The dangers of love
by Mizar and Alcor
Summary: Holley never really loved Mater. And she soon finds herself falling for another when she sets out to save her sister from a gang who wants her dead. But can Holley save her car-napped sister and keep her feelings for Finn McMissile secret? Finn/Holley!
1. Chapter 1: A break in Radiator Springs

Chapter 1: A simple break in Radiator Springs!

Authors note: Well ever since I first watched Cars 2, I kinda shipped Holley and Finn together. I just don't see Holley and Mater as a proper couple and I am sure many of you agree with me! Well this story is based around Holley's relationship with Finn and also her family! Enjoy!

Flying about the world was Holley Shiftwell's job. She and her colleague Finn McMissile went about different places locating and stopping all the bad guys along with many other things. They investigated all kinds of investigations, from robberies, to murders, to even the most extreme cases like gangs and scams like the Allinol scam before that started her official career off as a C.H.R.O.M.E agent. But nothing satisfied her more than to be at her partner's side kicking some cars bumpers! She had grown a very close bond with Finn, and she could confide in him for just about everything! Well almost anyway.

Holley had become attached to Finn. So much so, that she was begging to care for him. More than any agent would for their colleague. She knew that nothing could come of her and Mater. They were too different! Holley had given the tow truck a chance for a first date, but that didn't go so well. But when Holley came back to Siddeley that painful night after her disaster of a date with Mater, Finn had been there to comfort her. That was when Holley began to think of her associate in a different way.

She didn't know how to describe her emotions. She was no teenager with a mad crush for someone! Even though she had once been like that, well so did everyone at some stage. But her feelings felt completely new to her. Finn was a very nice and respectable gentleman who cared for those who were close to him, Holley as one example. But he probably had no idea what love was about. And Holley had a gut feeling she was about to find out. But Finn was older than her! How could she fancy her colleague? It was beyond her! But as she spent more and more time with him, the more and more she cared for him. But she knew deep down there could never be any sort of romantic relationship between them. And of course Finn had always told her that friendships were a dangerous thing to have in their line of work, but what about love? That was an even worse thing to have!

Recently they had cases filled up to the size of their fuel tanks. They had drained poor Siddeley to the limits as they were going around the world to different locations pretty much everyday! They were extremely dedicated to their job! But even the most dedicated secret agent needed a break right? Even the likes of Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell…

"So Miss Shiftwell which country needs our help next?" Finn McMissile asked his associate who checked her files to see if any new cases had aroused from the last time she had checked.

"Uh… I am actually surprised Finn. We have no more investigations to undertake. The files are completely empty!" Holley explained trying to hide the joy of it all in her voice. But a loud sigh could be heard throughout the room and it came from outside.

"I never thought I would say this but… that's a relief!" Siddeley exclaimed happily which made both Finn and Holley smile.

"So what are we going to do now Sir?" Holley asked secretly hoping that he would say the magic word beginning with V and ended with ACTION.

"Well I guess we have no choice but to take a small vacation until a new case pops up," Finn smiled that charming smile at Holley which made her begin to grin like a maniac.

"Finn… can I make a suggestion as to where we spend this vacation?" Holley said slowly hinting something Finn knew only too well.

"You mean you would like to visit Radiator Springs again don't you?" Finn replied smirking at a stunned Holley.

"You Finn McMissile are a mind reader! How did you know I was going to say that?" Holley inquired still a little stunned at Finn's knowledge of where she wanted to visit.

"I know you too well Miss Shiftwell! I know of your love for that town and the cars who live there… especially one particular tow truck," Finn's voice became a bit sly and slower as he examined Holley's face. She wasn't exactly cheerful at this point. Finn still had the impression she and Mater were going out, when really her attentions weren't on Mater, but on someone else….

"Well I wouldn't say love Finn, I mean me and Mater are really close friends! Nothing more!" Holley replied sounding a little defensive.

"Well the last time I checked, you and Mater were going out on a date… I don't call that a close friendship! I call that a romantic involvement!" Finn explained not even knowing what he was letting himself in for.

"And since when were you the judge of love Finn?" Holley asked with a hint of what Finn would call anguish in her voice.

"Who said I didn't know when a relationship is being undertaken?" Finn asked softly trying to avoid an argument at all costs.

"Finn, you're not the romantic sort! I don't need you to judge mine and Mater's relationship! And besides you would waste your time! Because there is no romantic involvement between us!" Holley explained trying to divert off of the subject. But Finn continued on with the matter!

"I am only saying what I think Holley. You always value my opinion… I mean Mater is a good fellow! You two are perfect for each other!" Finn said and with this Holley actually snapped at her colleague for the first time in history. This surprised Finn quite a lot!

"Why does everyone think that? I mean it was one date! That's all! Me and Mater aren't perfect for each other in any way shape or form! We are the exact opposites! I know he is a good fellow and all that Finn but you know what happened after the first date we had!" Holley then turned away and went over to her computer. Finn was still getting over the fact Holley was acting this way. But the question was why? Silence fell in the room for several moments before Finn decided to contact Siddeley who continued to fly in a certain direction.

"Siddeley?"

"Yes boss?"

"Could you drop us off at Radiator Springs? There are some friends we would like to see again!" Finn then turned to glance at Holley who was still ignoring his gaze.

What was wrong with her recently? She seemed more distracted… more unlike Holley! Finn had no idea why she was acting like this, but he wanted to know. He did after all look upon her as a close friend. Although he was unaware she looked upon him as more than a friend.

…

"Miss Holley! Finn! It's great to see y'all again!" a very excited tow truck made his way over to Siddeley who had just landed just outside Radiator Springs.

"It's nice to see you too Mater! So how are you?" Holley asked as she drove off of Siddeley, Finn close behind.

"Oh I'm fine! I have just been up to the usual things. You know, towing a few cars and tractor tippin' with my best bud Lightnin'! You know how it gets!" Mater exclaimed even though Holley had no idea what he was going on about. What in the name of England was tractor tipping?

"Oh that's nice…" Finn replied acting as if he knew what Mater was on about, but like Holley he had no clue.

"So what you guy's doin' here?" Mater asked.

"Oh we have a short break Mater. So we decided to come and visit you for a few days!" Finn explained noticing Mater was beginning to get extremely eager and excited upon their arrival.

"Oh Great! That means me and Miss Holley here can have another date!" Mater grinned not even noticing Holley's reaction to this. But Finn noticed it instantly, she didn't look happy even though she smiled for Mater's sake. On second thoughts she looked very sad, her eyes gave it away. Finn noticed her eyes look at the ground as if she were about to cry. This was extremely odd for her. Finn had now made it official, he was going to have a word with her later! But currently he decided to change the subject for Holley's sake. It was obvious she wasn't too keen on going on a date with Mater. And after the fiasco on the last one, it didn't actually surprise Finn that she was acting a little off. But this Holley was completely off! Something was definitely on her mind! And Finn McMissile was determined to find out what that was.

"Well look Mater, me and Holley would like to see the others before you go off into the wilderness. So if you don't mind could you take us to the rest of the town's folk?" Finn asked politely and Mater smiled again. Holley glanced gratefully at Finn and gave him a small smile before following Mater into Radiator Springs.

"Yeah sure! I'll tell you what! Me and Miss Holley here can go tractor tippin' later! Unless you would like to join us Finn?" Mater replied getting a strange glance from Holley.

"What's tractor tipping Mater?" Holley asked as Mater turned around and began to drive backwards.

"Well it's when we sneak into a field and blow our horns loud and then the tractors fall back and let rip if you know what I mean! It's funny right there! Me and McQueen do it all the time! Wanna join us Finn?" Mater then turned to Finn who glanced at Holley as she grimaced a little. Finn didn't like the sound of it, and he thought it would be a good idea to let Holley and Mater patch things up after the last time they were together. And besides, Finn had had enough of going around chasing the bad guys, a relaxing break was all he needed right now!

"Eh, no thanks old chap! I think I'm going to go get some fuel from Flo's. I will see you two later!" Finn smiled at Holley before driving away in the opposite direction leaving Mater alone with Holley.

"Alright see ya later Finn!" Mater waved his tyre before turning to Holley. "Well I guess we got some time alone now! What you wanna do Holley? Go out for a dinner or somethin'?" Mater asked and Holley quickly replied. The last thing she wanted to do was have another awkward dinner with Mater again. She would rather go tractor tipping! And that was what she was about to choose.

"Why don't we do that tractor tipping Mater?" Holley smiled as she noticed Mater's features lighten up.

"You mean it? Shoot, this will be better than I imagined! The only person I ever took tractor tippin' was McQueen, but he's been busy lately with Sally and all that. It will be nice to do it with someone different!" Mater seemed happy to be with Holley and Holley just hoped that today wouldn't end up like the last time they went out together.

"Yes, I believe it will…" Holley said slyly as she and Mater headed out to go tractor tipping.

…

"Well I'll tell you what; you seemed scared when Frank came along! I mean you was worse than McQueen when he first drove into him!" Mater chuckled as he and a petrified Holley made their way back into Radiator Springs later in the evening.

"Well can you blame me? He was huge! Never again will I call a combine harvester a piece of cake!" Holley gasped still getting over the shock of what just happened back there.

"He almost got you too! You should've seen your face before you reached that fence! You looked worse than my cousin when he found his engine was faulty! Tell you what; this will be funny to tell Finn when we get you back to Sid!" Mater laughed and Holley felt her eyes widen. She had completely forgotten about Finn! Gosh this would be awkward when Mater would tell him about their incident with a combine harvester!

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to know about this Mater!" Holley said a little sarcastically. Suddenly Mater immediately changed the subject to a more delicate one.

"Look Miss Holley, I know that our first date didn't go quite accordin' to plan with the food setting on fire and the weird conversations we all had and what not, but I just want to say… this doesn't change anything right?" Mater asked as he and Holley stopped in their tracks and turned to face one another. Holley then looked into the distance where the sun was setting and gulped. It was time she told Mater the truth, and neither she nor Mater would really like to hear it.

"Listen Mater… ever since that night I have been thinking things over and I have now come to the conclusion that we cannot be together! I mean you're an amazing friend Mater and I would like to keep our friendship as it is, but in a proper relationship, well it just doesn't work out! We don't have anything in common and you've got to admit we barely see each other! I am sorry to have to tell you this Mater but I just don't want to be in a relationship with you!" Holley said sounding very sympathetic towards Mater whose smile had dropped and now looked like a very disappointing frown.

"Oh… I see. It's alright Miss Holley! I understan' an' I don't mind! Perhaps it's for the best after all! Cause I'm just a tow truck and you're a pretty secret agent! I hope this doesn't affect our friendship? Does it?" Mater replied, sadness evident in his voice. Holley felt extremely guilty right now, but like Mater said, it was for the best.

"Of course it doesn't Mater! We can still be good friends! I am not ending our friendship! I just want to make sure that you don't think of me as your girlfriend anymore." Holley explained noticing Mater's features brighten up a tiny bit. But he was still sad. And so was Holley.

"Oh… ok then… well I guess goodnight Miss Holley!" Mater replied before turning around and driving away. Holley was now left alone just outside of the town and she felt extremely sad and guilty. What was Finn going to say? Oh Holley wasn't in the mood for answering his questions today!

As Holley approached Siddeley she felt tears form in her eyes. She tried to get rid of them but they wouldn't leave her be! As the door opened to let Holley inside, she noticed Finn was there waiting for her. He was smiling but his expression soon turned to concern as he noticed Holley's face was filled with sadness. Her time with Mater was not as good as he expected it to be! He regretted leaving them together now.

"Miss Shiftwell, are you ok?" Finn asked driving towards her. Holley continued to act as if nothing was wrong, but it was obvious she was upset no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

"I'm fine Finn!" Holley replied quickly as the entrance closed behind her. He rolled his eyes slightly and continued to press the matter further, much to Holley's displeasure.

"Holley Shiftwell! Do you really think I am that blind? It is obvious something is wrong with you! You have been acting strangely for the past couple of days! Ever since our last mission you have been showing your emotions for all to see! Now tell me what ever the matter is?" Finn asked softly trying to make her feel as if she could tell her anything. But Holley was a stubborn car at times. And she would often show her stubbornness to her partner. But never like this!

"I don't expect you to understand!" Holley said not even looking at Finn. She had fixed her gaze at the wall and refused to even pass a glance at Finn. This made him feel a little hurt; she was shutting herself out from him! That was something the real Holley Shiftwell would never do!

"And what is that meant to mean? Come on Holley, you always confide in me! No matter what the problem I can offer you some advice!" Finn exclaimed determined to find out what she was being so stubborn about.

"Not this time!" Holley replied still looking away. Finn sighed but refused to back down now.

"It's Mater isn't it? You broke up with him didn't you?"

"How did you know that?" Holley suddenly jumped and glanced at her partner who wore a sympathetic look toward her.

"I know you too well Miss Shiftwell… but the question is why you broke up with him?" Finn's eyes began to narrow as Holley looked around the room before replying.

"That's not concern of yours Finn McMissile!" Holley snapped unexpectedly which caused Finn to back away a little. Holley was surprised at herself for acting in this way. She had never snapped like this at Finn before. He looked almost as hurt as Mater did when she told him she didn't want a relationship with him. What was she doing? She was pushing her closest friends away! And she didn't want to do that! Especially to Finn! But she couldn't tell him the real reason why she ended everything with Mater! She didn't know how he would react or anything! But Finn had always told her to be truthful! And she was… but she couldn't tell him the truth! She just couldn't!

"Well… I am sorry then, I won't inquire about you any further… goodnight Miss Shiftwell," Finn then reversed back and decided to turn the lights off. This left Holley to think in total darkness. She had a lot to think over!

But about an hour later she found herself drifting off to sleep unaware that over 4 hours later she would have an unexpected phone call from someone she hadn't spoken to in years. Someone who was in dire need and someone she was extremely close to.

…

At about 4 o clock in the morning Holley was sleeping peacefully forgetting everything that had happened the day before. But those sweet dreams were cut short when she was awoken by a sudden call on her communicator. Holley opened her eyes as the communicator began to buzz and glanced over to see if Finn was still asleep. He was, but not for much longer. Holley rolled her eyes as she drowsily pressed the button to allow the caller to come onto her screen. She hardly paid attention to whoever was on the other end of the line.

"Yes, hello?" Holley said in a rough voice trying to keep herself awake.

"Holley it's me!" a familiar voice said on the other end of the line. Holley felt her eyes begin to widen as she instantly recognised the voice…

"Mother?"

Authors note: Well how do you like the first chapter? It's not too rushed is it? I hope you like the story so far! We shall meet Holley's sister in the next chapter along with the bad guys! Please review and check out my other story called _'Plans go astray'_! Anyway Merry Christmas! I shall post the next chapter soon!


	2. Chapter 2: Family matters

Chapter 2: Family matters

Authors note: Well thanks for the reviews in the last chapter! I hope this chapter meets to your approval also!

"_Yes, hello?" Holley said in a rough voice trying to keep herself awake. _

"_Holley it's me!" a familiar voice said on the other end of the line. Holley felt her eyes begin to widen as she instantly recognised the voice…_

"_Mother?"_

…

Holley stared at her communicator blankly as a picture of her mother appeared on the screen. She was a dark blue jaguar with the same grace and elegance as her daughter, but one difference could easily be spotted, she looked a much older model compared to that of her daughter. Holley didn't know what to do or to say. She hadn't spoken to her mother for over 2 years! They had accidentally lost touch while Holley was in Tokyo and she hadn't been able to contact her family ever since. It took Holley a short while to get to grips with reality. She didn't even check to see if Finn was still asleep, neither did she remember that he was in the room.

"Hello Holley…" the blue car smiled softly but Holley couldn't smile; she was still too overwhelmed at the current situation.

"What are you ringing me at this time of night for?" Holley asked grouchily still forcing her eyes to stay open.

"Oh is it night where you are? Here in London it is early evening…"

"Mother… what is the matter? Where did you get my number from?" Holley said impatiently. The look on her mothers face said that something was amiss. But she didn't realise how big of a problem it would be.

"Well I finally managed to get a number for the Tokyo station in Japan and they said you no longer worked there, so naturally they gave me a number and I finally found you! After two years!"

"Mom! I am glad you have plenty to talk about but I must ask a question. Why did you ring me at this hour?" Holley pressed on noticing her mothers face turned to a bit of concern.

"Holley, something dreadful has happened! Your sister Hailey, she didn't come home lat night… and she didn't tell me where she was or anything! Holley… I think she's been car-napped!"

"But do you have any proof to show that she has been car-napped?" Holley asked trying to make sure it wasn't her mother having one of them 'concern over nothing moments'. But the look on her face was completely real! She had never been like this before!

"Yes actually I do…" Holley's mother said driving away for a second before coming back into camera view with something on her hood. "This morning I found this letter on my front door step. They put _'If you don't come and meet us in Paris in three days with a ransom of £2, 0000 we will kill your precious daughter'_. Oh Holley I am so scared and the police aren't doing a very good job of tracking her down! We don't have that kind of money and these cars are threatening to kill her! I beg of you Holley, could you please investigate this for me and bring your sister home?"

"Of course mother!" Holley began feeling her engine rate flare up. She hadn't seen her sister ever since her graduation ceremony before she left for Japan the day after. Her sister was also studying the same course in college currently and from what Holley knew, she was a very smart pupil. And whatever it took Holley, she would do what it would take to make sure her sister was safe and sound again. "But me and my colleague are in America currently, I will have to wait until morning before I can fly into London! But I will leave as soon as I can!"

"Holley… whoever have car-napped your sister are extremely intelligent and quick. Hailey wouldn't have gone without a fight; you know what a stubborn girl she is at times! Whoever took her obviously wants more than money… Oh Holley if they kill her I don't know what I'd do!" Holley's mother then began to sob down the line, Holley too found herself feeling extremely sad.

"Don't worry mother! No matter what it takes, I will find her! But I shall come home to you first to pick up this letter! I shall need as much information and help as I can get if I plan on tracking these idiots down, they have a nerve to mess with my sister!" Holley spat bitterly before sounding gentler towards her sobbing mother "Now mother, lock all the doors and keep yourself hidden! They may be after you too."

"I already took care of that Holley dear! Now please be careful! I don't want to loose another daughter!"

"You forget mom… I'm now a secret agent! It takes more than a bunch of thugs to take me down!" Holley reassured smiling slightly. Her smiling suddenly stopped when she noticed the lights inside Siddeley switched on. She glanced away from her screen to see a wide awake Finn looking deeply concerned at her and her mother on the screen. He had obviously heard the majority of the conversation.

"That's exactly what your father said! And you know what happened to him Holley!" Holley's mother replied sounding deeply hurt as she continued to sob some more. "Now I want you to promise me you'll be safe!"

"I promise mom! I will be there in a few hours! Gather as much information about these cars as you can! Call some of Hailey's friends if you have to! Then I shall go to Paris and take on these thugs by myself!" Holley spoke confidently not even noticing Finn's weird glance in her direction.

"Ok then Holley! Please take care! And it was nice to hear your voice after two years! See you soon!" Holley's mother then gave a small smile before disappearing off of Holley's screen. Holley spent a few moments staring at the blank screen before Finn's voice caught her attention.

"So you're going on this alone are you?" Finn asked, his expression completely neutral.

"Yes I am Finn. This is a personal matter that involves my sister being car-napped by a bunch of hooligans for some ransom of money! And I don't think you would enjoy this case anyway," Holley replied.

"Miss Shiftwell, I don't go on cases for fun! I do what needs to be done to insure the safety of the car nation. And this is a very personal case for you and like you said you need all the help you can get! No agent leaves his accomplice behind remember?" Finn assured calmly. He had always told her this among many things; this is why Holley respected him so much. He always gave good advice!

"But you're on vacation Finn! I don't wish to disturb that for the sake of my own personal problems!" Holley said but her colleague shook his head abruptly.

"Nonsense! This is way more important than a small break! We shall leave for London at once and meet your mother! But first I think it's time we said goodbye to Mater," Finn explained and Holley's expression turned to that of shame again.

"No Finn! I don't think I could ever face him after last night!"

"Holley! This is your chance to make amends! And the later you leave it, the more it will be awkward between the two of you!" Finn said making a lot of sense to Holley, as usual.

"Oh alright… but straight after we will head for England?" Holley asked and Finn nodded. Holley grimaced; time to get the awkwardness out of the way with.

…

After a very tense goodbye Holley Finn and Siddeley left Radiator Springs and were on the way to London. Holley hadn't been home for over three years now! While she worked at the different stations in Japan she lived in a small apartment temporarily. How she lost touch with her family was quite straight forward. She was swapped and changed around from station to station helping track down different criminals for different field agents. And once she was moved to the Tokyo station she forgot to give her family the new number to contact her with. And Holley was so pilled up with different cases that she forgot about her family completely. Also around that time she and her mother had gotten into a few arguments so Holley knew it was best to have a breather from her for a while. She just didn't realise it would be a two year breather until she had got back in touch with her mother again. And the only reason they had got back in touch was because Holley's dear sister had been car-napped. This worried and angered Holley as she knew her sister would probably fight off these cowards and they would probably fight back at her. Holley knew how stubborn her sister could be! She took after her father for that! Speaking of whom, Holley couldn't seem to get her father off of her mind. It had been over 10 years now since that unfortunate accident that cost his life. And Holley didn't care to re-think that painful moment that caused her family so much pain.

"Miss Shiftwell?" Holley was suddenly brought back from reality after her deep thoughts as she turned to see Finn glancing at her with that concerned look in his eye. She had been acting like this ever since they had left Radiator Springs, and Finn could see why.

"Hmm? Oh sorry Finn, I was just thinking as all!" Holley replied trying to act normal but her facial expressions were sad. A mixture of sadness and guilt. This made Finn also sad, to see his friend acting like this after some terrible news made him wonder what it would've been like if he was in Holley's tyres. He would probably be feeling the same way!

"About you sister?" Finn asked softly receiving a small nod off of Holley.

"I never really got to say much to her before I left! We were close as we grew up, but she seems to be the kind of girl who shuts herself out from everyone else! Especially after what happened to dad! I think she never recovered after what happened to him…" Holley frowned a little. A part of her still hadn't fully recovered after that incident. But she was able to move on with her life, and look where she was now!

"Loosing someone close to you is tough… I have found that out myself. But you have to learn to move on! You can't hold onto the past forever!" Finn said looking away as he said this. Holley glanced at her colleague. Something in Finn's eyes showed something he had never shown anyone before. Perhaps he had his own past problems he still thought about on the odd occasion. Something that wouldn't go away. But Holley couldn't be certain, and neither did she want to hurt Finn's feelings by enquiring further. She cared for him too much to see him like that.

"Yes… I guess you can't…" Holley said distantly, and with that, the room went silent once again. And it would remain that way until they arrived in London.

…

After landing in London some time in the morning Holley and Finn said their goodbye's to Siddeley before making their way towards Holley's house. She recognised everything! All the houses, the cars and most importantly her own house on the end of the street. Past memories came flooding back to her, good and bad ones and as she drove closer and closer to her house she noticed something was amiss.

"Nice neighbourhood Shiftwell!" Finn added as he drove along side Holley. Holley smiled at her colleague as they approached her house.

"Thank you sir!"

Holley's and Finn's gazes were turned away from each other as they heard a familiar voice come from the direction of Holley's house.

"Holley!" Holley's mother cried out as she rushed over to her daughter. Holley grinned and let her mother welcome her back home.

"Hello mom! It's so nice to be back here again!" Holley replied before noticing her mothers glance at Finn.

"Is this your new boyfriend? Isn't he a bit old for you dear?" Holley's mother blurted aloud while inspecting Finn with her bright blue eyes. Holley felt a blush begin to appear on her bumper as she and Finn both felt a little embarrassed at her mothers sudden outburst. Holley decided to fix the situation quickly before things became more awkward.

"No mom this is my colleague and partner in C.H.R.O.M.E, agent Finn McMissile! He's the one who recruited me as a field agent!" Holley pointed out as her mother glanced from her to Finn again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you madam!" Finn flashed his usual formal smile at Holley's mother and she smiled back, while she lent into Holley and whispered.

"You never told me you had a male colleague!"

"Well I haven't spoken to you for over 2 years so I never got the opportunity to tell you!" Holley whispered back and nudged her mother who back away to greet Finn properly.

"Well I am Holley's mother Mrs Emma Shiftwell! Welcome to the Shiftwell residence Mr McMissile!" Holley's mother greeted. "You know my daughter Holley of course! It's just a shame you haven't met my other daughter Hailey," Holley's mother then sounded a little distance as Hailey came back into the conversation. Holley noticed her mother's behaviour and decided to get down to business.

"Oh and about that mom, have you anymore information about her disappearance?" Holley asked sounding very serious. Her mother nodded and then realized where they currently were.

"Oh what are we still doing parked out here in the middle of the street? Come on in Mr McMissile!"

"Thank you Mrs Shiftwell!" Finn thanked as he and Holley drove into Holley's old home followed by Holley's mother.

"Sorry about the mess and everything! I have been too busy to clean up around here lately! And Hailey doesn't make things any better now with her car-napping and everything!" Mrs Shiftwell explained as she led Holley and Finn into the main living room.

"Its fine mother, we aren't stopping anyway! Now tell us about this information you have got!" Holley went straight in to the point. She knew how carried away her mother got and how she could easily be taken off of one subject and on to another so Holley tried her very best to get her mother to stay on the right subject. This was a matter of urgency anyway!

"Oh of course! Well I went out and spoke to Hailey's best friend Molly yesterday and she said she saw Holley in college being escorted by two unrecognisable cars. She said no one did anything to stop them because the cars proclaimed to be police officers. But she said they had no licence plates and they didn't look anything like police officers. And she did say that Hailey did struggle and resisted to be taken by them at first before they dented her side and told her to remain silent!" Mrs Shiftwell explained receiving mixed expressions from Holley and Finn.

"Is there anything else?" Finn asked and suddenly Holley's mother tensed up a little. Holley could sense there was more to what her mother had just told them and this part of information would be more valid.

"The police called round last night and handed this to me!" Mrs Shiftwell then got out a small microchip and gave it to Holley "They said they had managed to pick up a video of several cars escorting Hailey through the college and putting her into a van outside. I haven't watched it yet! I thought it would be more use to you!"

"One second…" Holley muttered as she connected the microchip into a small hole on her mirror and plugged the chip into it. Holley then pulled up her computer screen and the video showed up on the screen. Holley, Finn and Mrs Shiftwell watched the clip with a rise of tension and worry rising in the room.

The video began to play and two black scruffy cars with French accents were escorting a dark purple jaguar through the building to the outside area of the college. No one was around at the time and the purple jaguar seemed to be struggling. She was attached to some kind of hook so it was barely impossible for her to escape, but she still tried as she struggled against both cars. She was also very similar to Holley but her colour was much darker than and not as metallic as her sister's body colour. As the video progressed and the cars took Holley's sister outside where a large van was parked awaiting the cars arrival. Then the sounds on the video could be heard.

"Get your filthy tyres off me you stupid cars! You're not police officers!" the voice of Hailey yelled out as she began to struggle even more.

"Oh stop struggling you stupid girl!" the one car yelled out, his accent was very deep and could instantly be recognised as a French car. He then turned to the other car and spoke as Hailey continued to scream and yell out for help. But no one was listening as they were all under the impression she was being arrested "are you sure this is the right girl?"

"I'm positive! She's the one the boss told us to car-nap!" the other car explained, his accent wasn't as French as the other cars but a hint of French could still be heard even through the security camera.

"Good… now we got to take her to the boss and hope that our luck turns out right!" the other car spoke obviously getting more and more agitated as Hailey continued to yell and struggle.

"When I get out I'll so rip your bumpers clean off and it won't be funny!" Hailey threatened as they approached the van. The next thing that happened almost made Holley and her mother cry at the sheer sight of it.

"I SAID QUIET!" the first car hissed pushing his weight into her causing her to whack herself off of the side of the van. When she was in clear view again, she had a giant dent on one of her side doors. Hailey's cries could be heard faintly on the video as she was soon dragged into the van by her bare tyres against her own will.

"Now get her in there! The sooner we get her to the boss, the sooner we can go back to our other plans!" the car instructed as they closed the doors of the van.

"Let's hope our plan goes well! If it doesn't I may just kill that purple jaguar with my own bare tyres!" the other one said as they began to drive away.

"If the plan goes wrong, I'll join you in the killing!" and both of the black French cars laughed as they drove away from the college. None of them had licence plates so they couldn't be tracked. It was obvious that the person behind all of this was smarter than anyone would've thought.

After watching the video Holley took her screen down and all three cars stood there in silence. It wasn't until Holley's mother spoke that anyone else even mentioned a word.

"My poor girl!" Mrs Shiftwell cried out as she began to sob again. Finn looked away not knowing what to say or to do. He felt their sadness! But he wasn't a member of the family, so this made things more awkward for him. Holley sat there in silence; she wasn't sobbing but she wasn't exactly smiling at the very sight of her sister being brutally attacked by some French thugs. Instead she just decided to drive out of the room and make her way to another room which made her feel less sad. Finn decided to follow her as he thought he could be a support to her at this current time. He found her in a room with a hanger on the door saying 'Hailey's room'.

When Finn entered the room he noticed Holley wasn't crying, but smiling! She was staring at a small photo on the wall. Finn decided to approach her quietly. He noticed as he entered her sister's room that it was full of posters of monster trucks and flags of her favourite monster truck competitors. She was obviously a free spirited girl who wasn't that much like her sister. But none the less no matter how much apart Holley and he sister were in interests, it was clear to Finn that they were obviously very close!

As Finn stopped next to Holley he noticed the picture Holley was staring at was a picture of her with her sister and mother and her father with the clock Big Bentley in the distant background. It was obviously an old photo because it looked worn and not as clear as some of the others. Finn noticed Holley's father in particular, he was a red jaguar who looked quite happy next to his daughters and wife. It was a shame he wasn't still around.

"Holley? Are you alright?" Finn asked softly trying his very best not to startle her. Holley turned to Finn and then looked back at the picture with a longing look in her eyes.

"I remember when my family used to be happy when my father was alive! My sister and me were more close back then! And my mother was a lot happier than she is now! If dad was still here he'd know what to do! He was one of the best secret agents around in my opinion. He inspired me to become a technical agent for the stations in Japan! But my father is no longer here and I guess it falls to me to find my sister!" Holley then turned to Finn and stared into his eyes "You don't have to come with me you know!"

"Of course I know! But you're almost like a friend to me! And I would never let you go into a mission alone!" Finn replied making Holley feel a little down again.

"Almost like a friend?" Holley said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Finn noticed this and realized that wasn't the best thing to describe their current relationship.

"Well I can't exactly call you a friend! Like I say, friendships are dangerous in our line of work, remember?"

"How can I forget?" Holley then turned away. For one moment there she forgot about all the problems with her family and her feelings for Finn suddenly rushed back to her. To hear the words 'almost like a friend' hurt her feelings ever so slightly. She considered him to be more than a friend, but he just considered her to be under the friend boundary? Holley now knew for certain that her feelings for Finn would get nowhere, and the sad truth was. She was afraid she couldn't let go of her feelings for him.

"Holley I-" Finn began only to be cut off by a voice at the doorway.

"Oh I figured you'd come in here!" Holley's mother smiled slightly as she also entered the room. Holley tuned to her mother and smiled ever so slightly.

"Yes mother, even Hailey's posters of monster tuck cars make me laugh at past events," Holley chuckled a little but still felt the sadness in her heart for several reasons.

"And the picture of out family?" Mrs Shiftwell asked looking over at the picture that Holley was gazing at not moments before. "We all miss him you know…"

"I know…" Holley sighed "but I always wondered that if he were still here, he would know what to do! I'm afraid I'm just living in his shadow," Holley then looked down at the floor as her mother approached her.

"You are not living in his shadow! He knew of the risks of being a secret agent, as I know you do! He would be so proud of you Holley, as he would with Hailey also! You will find your sister and bring her home safely!" Mrs Shiftwell then glanced at Finn and smiled "And besides, you have agent McMissile at your side! Together you'll make a brilliant team!"

"Thanks mother!" Holley smiled and then glanced at Finn who also gave her a proud sought of look. "Now I think it's about time we called Siddeley again Sir, we have a car to save!" Holley said this with a boost of confidence. She hadn't felt this confident in weeks! It felt good to be like this again!

"Already on it agent Shiftwell!" Finn winked and smirked as his colleague.

"And here was me thinking I had given up on the hosting secret meetings in my house," Holley's mother chuckled. She knew her daughter would make her proud, and Hailey would soon be brought back home safe and sound!

"Siddeley? We need you to land again; we need to get to Paris ASAP. We shall meet you at the airport in half an hour!" Finn said professionally into his microphone. Holley smiled at her partner while she thought… another mission? Bring it on!

But Holley had no idea what an impact this mission would have on her relationship with Finn. She had no idea how her feelings would change the way she did things, and not only were her feelings clouding her judgement, but the main victim in this entire plot was her own sister. Things were about to get complicated! Feelings were going to be shown, and new and old enemies were about to appear. Not only was Holley's past creeping back on her, but so was Finn's! And both would have to pull together to get through this.

Authors note: Ok I know this chapter shows a lot of feelings and stuff but now that's over with, we can now see who the real bad guys are! Things will go slowly for Holley and Finn, but both of them will have their own problems they will need to face. But I'm not gonna give too much away! Please review! I really care for all your opinions! Thanks! And I shall update soon!


	3. Chapter 3: More to the plan

Chapter 3: More to the plan 

Authors note: This story is about to get more interesting… the villains are here people! YAY! Oh and thank you **Optimus' girl **for your advice! It has been taken into consideration and I hope that this chapter meets with your approval. I have tried to cut down on the amount of exclamation marks I use; I just seem to get carried away with them. Well anyway, thanks for the last reviews! Enjoy this chapter!

"Finally, your back. The Boss is getting impatient!" an old yellow Lemon car called out as he approached two scraggy black French cars. He had no French accent at all, in fact it sounded American! His green eyes were much duller than the two French cars blue ones and he seemed to have a bit of a limp on one of his tyres. But he was a Lemon car so this was no surprise to anyone.

"Well the task was harder than we thought it was going to be," one of the cars replied he was obviously agitated and tired after his journey with his other associate.

"Do you have the girl?"

"Oui, and she was hard to catch. When she wakes up make sure she's secure, she's one feisty jaguar!"

"Oui, just like her sister and father!" the other French car laughed causing the entire room to go up with laughter.

"We'd better take her to the Boss," the French car finally spoke out after the laughter had died down.

"The boss isn't here Rémi. But we can still take her to the torture room, we'll need some valuable information when she regains consciousness," the Lemon car smirked as he glanced behind to see several other vehicles turf out the purple jaguar who was still asleep.

"But where is the boss? I thought this was the bosses plan… bring the girl and let the boss do away with her!" the black car known as Rémi shouted impatiently.

"Rémi weren't you paying any attention at all when the Boss gave you the orders? It's not this car the Boss wants! The Boss wants to get to another car…" the Lemon car continued on glancing at the wall in a dramatic way while the two French black cars gave him weird glances.

"And that car would be?" the other car asked but not getting a reply off of the Lemon car. He seemed to be in a world of his own again. Gustave rolled his eyes before trying to get the old cars attention "Larry?"

"Huh? What is it Gustave?" Larry asked getting grips on reality.

"Ugh, Lemon cars!" Rémi moaned, was this guy really working with them? Or was it some practical joke or something? "He said who is the car the boss wants? Incase you weren't listening."

"Oh… I don't know… the boss told me to keep it quiet; we're after someone else who also travels with our target. That's all I'm sayin'." Larry replied then sealing his lips tight. Rémi and Gustave gave each other different glances and rolled their eyes at the Lemon car.

"I ask a silly question…" Gustave muttered and then lent into Rémi and whispered "Are all American's like this?"

"How should I know?" Rémi whispered back "But if they are, it's lucky that all our victims are English agent cars."

"Now let's awake our guest, we have some information to get, and it won't be given so easily. So we'll force it out of her!" Larry then began to chuckle evilly but Gustave and Rémi decided to cackle more menacingly as they drove into their 'torture room'. Oh Hailey was in for a big surprise when she woke up! And she would soon know the full extent of their plans! And who was really behind it all! The really bad thing is though; she won't be able get away from them this time.

…

"Finn, we'll reach Paris in less than half an hour," Siddeley's voice filled the room. Holley and Finn were inside talking about their plans of action when they arrived in Paris.

"Thank you Siddeley." Finn called back and then glanced in Holley's direction. She was gazing out of the window, her eyes still full of sadness and worry. Finn felt for her, he had never seen his colleague so upset before. But he could hardly blame her! First there was that breakup with Mater, then the mysterious phone call from her mother whom she hadn't spoken to in over 2 years, and now even though Finn noticed her current feelings for her associate she was trying so hard to hide. It seemed that Holley was having the worst time of her life at the moment and nothing seemed worth living, but Finn knew she was a fighter and no matter what, he would help her get through this!

"So I was thinking we'd stop off and visit an old friend while we're in Paris," Finn smiled glancing away from Holley for a second before looking back in the hopes he had got her attention. And he did! Well kind of…

"Really? Who's that?" Holley asked with barely any interest in her voice. This made Finn frown a bit but he carried on with what he was going to say anyway.

"Tomber!" Finn exclaimed, smirking a little. He knew how much Holley disliked Tomber after their first encounter on the Allinol case. After she gave him that electric shock they grew to despise each other. Now the real Holley would object to even going near 'that three wheeled contraption' as she called him before. But today Finn wasn't talking to the REAL Holley. And what she said next, proved this.

"Oh that's nice," Holley said without any enthusiasm in her voice. Finn's eyebrows raised and he turned to face his colleague fully who had suddenly taken a big interest in the view from the window down below on ground.

"Now the real Holley would definitely object to visiting Tomber. But I think I understand why you're like this. You're worried about your sister aren't you?" Finn asked sympathetically.

"Listen Finn, I really don't care what you do. If you want to visit Tomber, then you do that! But I am not resting until my sister is found!" Holley said determinedly now turning away from the window and facing Finn.

"Holley I appreciate your concern for your younger sister, but it will take time for us to track her down. And besides, Tomber could have some information we could use, he is after all an eager gossiper with words on the street," Finn explained.

"Finn don't you realize? We only have 3 days to find these good for nothing hooligans who are holding my sister for ransom before they do away with her all together! We don't have time! And Tomber may be some help to us, but he won't be so easy to give us information. Remember what happened before?" Holley asked recalling back to the time when they had to chase Tomber to get any information out of him. That was the exact time when she gave him that electric shock because she thought he was a criminal. She still remembered the feeling she got when Finn told her he was his informant. That sent shivers down her fuel tank just to recall that very day.

"Well you can leave him to me… and Holley, we'll find your sister." Finn encouraged smiling confidently at Holley. She returned his smile and couldn't help but stare at him again. She felt that strange buzz feeling she got when she was close to Finn like she was now. Finn was actually returning her stare which surprised both Holley and himself. What was he doing? This was no staring contest! _'Snap out of it McMissile!' _Finn's mind screamed at him. But he couldn't tear his eyes away from his colleague. She was so venerable currently. Her world was tearing itself apart, yet she was determined to fix it again! This made Finn wonder about himself. He admired her bravery! He didn't know why he was staring at her, or why she was returning his stare. They gazed warmly into each others eyes for several moments more before Siddeley's voice made them both come back to reality suddenly.

"Finn, Holley, we're here! Paris," Siddeley explained and both Holley and Finn glanced out of a nearby window. Yes, they were indeed in Paris! The Eiffel tower was in clear view in the distance as were many of the other ancient monuments in Paris. As they were approaching the runway at Paris international airport, Holley and Finn strapped themselves in to prepare to land.

Their journey started here! And it wasn't going to be pretty! Especially when they didn't know who they were really up against. But they both had a feeling they were soon going to find out!

…

Hailey felt a complete blur, along with sharp pains throughout her body. The last thing she remembered was being forced into a van against her will, getting bashed and scraped for the sake of fighting back. She remembered the two French cars, and what they had said. She slowly opened her eyes as her vision came back to her. She soon regretted opening her eyes as she noticed several cars surrounding her smirking wickedly. Two of them were in fact the same cars who car-napped her.

"Well, well, well, look who's finally decided to wake up!" Rémi shouted to all of his friends behind him who also laughed along with him. But his smiles soon faded away when Hailey answered him back casually.

"Hey loudmouth, could you keep your voice down? There's an injured car here who just woke up!" Hailey snapped still re-gaining her vision back.

"Oh, she speaks. That's a good thing, because we need you to do a lot of talking for us about the location of 'you know who'," Gustave then shone a bright light into Hailey's eyes causing her to react by closing slightly.

"Hey buster, could you kinda dim the light down?" Hailey asked casually again and Gustave surprisingly did as she asked "thank you," Hailey continued before looking around the room. "Hey, nice place you've got here! A newly converted secret evil lair from an old factory. It's like them horror movies on TV with the mad scientists and the alien cars, but it looks less realistic and not so futuristic."

"Ok, nobody cares girl! Now tell us where 'you know who' is!" Rémi demanded, it was obvious Hailey's attitude was starting to get to his nerves. She was playing this act on to do just that! She never was the sarcastic joke type of car, but to annoy these bozos she decided to play it cool. Unaware of the consequences that this attitude would cause for her.

"You know what now? Listen fellow's, you need to take a break, play it cool. But it looks as if you are past your expiry date. When was the last time you had a paint job? There is rust on your rust!" Hailey pointed out to Gustave who glared at her deeply. But before anyone could say or do anything Larry soon cut her cool act short.

"SILENCE!" Larry roared pressing a button on a nearby machine to make a heavy weight come down and smash into Hailey's roof. She yelped in pain as the metal weight crushed her roof and went back up to where it hung before. Gustave and Rémi looked in shock at who had before given off the impression that he was a senile old Lemon car, who was turning out to be just as or more evil than them! Now yelling with rage at this purple jaguar Larry was shocking all of the gang of cars who surrounded her. They now knew to never call him names in front of him again. Larry came off of the machine and limped towards Hailey, rage still evident in his features. "Now listen you little wrench! These fools may take in your cool attitude, but I certainly don't! I may be old, but my temper can still get to the danger zone when snappy little teenagers refuse to do what we ask! Now tell us where agent Shiftwell is!"

"Who?" Hailey asked still whimpering in pain.

"Holley Shiftwell!"

"Never heard of her." Hailey lied.

"Are you sure this is the right girl Larry?" Gustave asked curiously. Her act was working with him, but she was obviously not fooling the rest of the gang.

"Of course she is! She's just playing the dumb trick on us. This is Holley Shiftwell's sister, and we will let the Boss decide her fate." Larry then drove over to another machine and pressed a green button and typed in some sort of code with his tires. The next thing they knew, a video monitor popped up in front of the cars and a blood red colour flashed onto the screen. No one could see who the car was, just the lower bumper where her lips were, they were very red, even redder than the rest of her body, well the parts that were visible anyway.

"Yes what is it Larry?" a very thick accented female voice called out on the monitor. She sounded quite impatient as she spoke to Larry and the other cars with a curious yet impatient tone.

"We have the girl Boss! She's right here!" Larry said zooming in his camera to Hailey who glanced up at the screen with her eyes half closed after that encounter with that weight.

"Good… and Holley Shiftwell's current location?"

"We are still trying to find out that madam. But this girl's bark is worse than her bite, she won't tell us!" Larry exclaimed receiving another heavy sigh from the Boss.

"Then make her tell us. Put her through extreme measures, anything to let us find the truth. And make it quick! You know it's not Shiftwell I want!"

"What?" Hailey muttered receiving a few smirks from Gustave and Rémi.

"That's right!" Rémi teased.

"Yes Madam. We want Shiftwell, while you want McMissile!" Larry replied.

"Yes, that cretin will pay for what he did to me! As will Shiftwell for what she did to you! Now make sure our prisoner is kept nice and comfortable now. She is the bait after all; I shall visit the prisoner in two days. Then perhaps our encounter with our enemies can finally come underway! And then we can finally get the revenge we seek!" and with that the mysterious female was gone. Hailey was left with loads of questions and only a few answers.

Why were they after her sister? Who were these cars? Why did they want her? And who in the name of England was McMissile? So many questions! But there was no point in asking, Hailey would soon find out.

"McMissile? Who's McMissile?" Rémi asked turning to Gustave who also shrugged.

"Surely you have heard of Finn McMissile? The idiot C.H.R.O.M.E agent who put all of my friends in prison over a year ago for that Allinol scam!" Larry snapped bitterly. It was obvious that he too had some bad experiences with this Finn McMissile.

"But why does the Boss want him?" Gustave asked curiously.

"She has her own reasons, as do you with Shiftwell. I in fact want to see them both dead. Preferable slow and painfully," Larry explained before turning back to Hailey "now you half witted teenager, tell us where we can find agent Holley Shiftwell."

"I'm not saying anything to you morons!" Hailey said stubbornly still trying to squirm out of what she was hooked to. Larry sighed and signaled to Rémi who nodded and grinned as he drove over to the machine that controlled the heavy weight.

"As you wish," Larry said as he drove away. "You know what to do… alert me when she finally cracks!" and with that Larry left the room.

"Oui Larry!" Rémi said before smirking evilly at Hailey and controlling the metal weight to crash down on Hailey again. She yelled out in pain as the French cars roared with laughter. Oh this was going to be fun for them! But not for poor Hailey!

…

"So where do we go first Finn?" Holley asked as they both drove off of the ramp on Siddeley. They were now in Paris' main airport and as they made their way to the check in department, Holley and Finn discussed their plans of action.

"We'll go and see Tomber, not for personal matters. But he could have some useful information for us. He's a very big gossiper like I said before; he may know the whereabouts of these cars," Finn explained receiving a nod off of Holley.

"Then?"

"We'll go check into a hotel somewhere. And we'll continue our investigating tomorrow!"

"Right, so we visit that three wheeled contraption, go to some hotel and then continue with the plans tomorrow. Got it!" Holley said with no particular tone in her voice.

"Yes, I mean it's… 5 o clock now! And we do have two more days to track this gang down you know," Finn replied glancing at the time on his mirror.

"I wasn't disagreeing with you Sir! I know you always make the right decisions," Holley smiled thinking this to be true. Finn on the other hand had a different opinion on this.

"Well I wouldn't say I 'always' make the right decisions. I mean I am not perfect!" Finn chuckled not even knowing Holley's current thoughts.

'_You are to me Finn, you are to me…' _Holley thought beginning to stare at her colleague again as they entered the airport building. She smiled softly until Finn looked out of the corner of his eye to find her indeed grinning and staring at him. She couldn't be _attracted_ to him? Could she?

"Everything alright Shiftwell?" Finn asked raising his eyebrows in a peculiar way. Holley immediately snapped out of her gaze and looked away feeling extremely embarrassed. Why was she showing her emotions to Finn like this? Was it all with what was going on with her sister? Or was it something else? She knew that if she told Finn about her feelings for him it would only make situations more awkward and probably ruin everything between them. She knew he wouldn't feel the same for her as she did for him. He was too blind to notice her interest in him, well… until now anyways! She knew that no matter what it took, she had to keep them feelings for him secret! Her job and their professionalism were on the line, not to mention her dignity!

"Yes Finn, why do you ask?" Holley said casually as she glanced around the airport trying not to even glance at her associate.

"Are you sure? For a second there I was under the impression you was, as they say 'Checking me out'…" Finn smirked knowing this couldn't be true. But for a few seconds he thought about it. Could it be true? Ever since that break up with Mater she seemed to have let her emotions out more freely than ever, and this was not the first time he had caught her staring at him. She couldn't possibly have a crush on him? Could she?

"No, what on Earth gave you that impression?" Holley chuckled still trying to hide her embarrassment.

"I don't know…" Finn said deciding to end the subject "I guess we'll find out soon enough…" he muttered this to himself. Finn was getting more and more curious to know if his partner actually had feelings for him. The question 'Why?' kept popping into his head.

'_She's less than 10 years your age man! She deserves a young lad the same age as her, not some old too experienced agent who has barely any other pleasures in life than to be a spy. And why are you thinking like this? You don't like her back do you?'_ Finn's subconscious yelled at him.

Finn personally thought the idea to be preposterous _'No I don't like her like that! She is less than 10 years my age like you say and I only caught her looking at me a few times! Perhaps she is just getting over Mater, or her concern for her sister is playing on her mind and she doesn't realize what she is doing!_' Finn yelled back at his subconscious as he and Holley continued to drive through the airport.

'_But you would like the idea of a relationship with her wouldn't you?'_ Finn's subconscious replied teasingly. Finn couldn't believe what he was thinking.

'_Not in the slightest! She is my colleague. Nothing more, nothing less.'_

'_Perhaps you're afraid to go into a relationship. With what happened the last time you gave into your emotions… remember Collette?'_ Finn suddenly stopped in his tracks for a split second. He did not just hear that name. His subconscious couldn't bring her up again! He had sworn to forget her after all that had happened between them!

'_Don't you dare bring her into this matter! Holley is nothing like her! Collette made her choice and I made mine! I was young and stupid back then, I had no idea what I was doing. And I'm not afraid of another relationship, I just know Holley deserves better than an old spy car like me! And relationships can be-'_

'_Dangerous in your kind of work… blah, blah, blah. Just think about it Finn!'_ and suddenly Finn's subconscious went away. Since when had he listened to his subconscious anyway? He had always followed his instincts! But his mind was playing tricks on him, and now the sheer mention of a certain cars name made Finn feel down. He continued to think about all of this until he was brought back to reality by a familiar soft voice.

"Finn?" Holley asked raising her in a peculiar way.

"Hmm?" Finn said half dazed. He then noticed he and Holley were at the check in desk with a very impatient blue airport car waiting behind the desk.

"Passports?" Holley signified pointing her tire at Finn's. He always kept his secret most valuable stuff in his tires. That way, it was easier to get things out when and where he needed it. He passed the passports to the check in car who scanned them before handling them back to Finn and signaling them through. Both Holley and Finn could have sworn they heard the check in car mutter.

"Typical English…"

Yep they were most definitely in France! Next stop, Tomber's car parts stall in Paris!

Authors note: Well how was this chapter? Any good? And no before you ask I will not be revealing the true identity of the 'boss' just yet! You're lucky I gave it away that she is a female car! And for any of you Tomber fans, he will be making several appearances in this story. Brief yes, but they still count! And the villains Larry, Rémi and Gustave will be in this story causing trouble as well! Oh and for any of you who don't understand French… Oui means yes. Anyway please review! Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4: Visiting Tomber

Chapter 4: Visiting Tomber

Authors note: Thank you all Sooooo much for the reviews for the last chapter! I never got that many reviews for just one chapter before ever! Please keep them coming! Anyway onto the story… ever wondered what it's like for Finn when someone's trying to sell him Love potions? No? Well your about to find out! Enjoy!

"Now I know you know the rules Shiftwell but I'm going to go through them again anyways," Finn explained as he and Holley both made their way through the city of Paris.

"Go on then McMissile, blow me away with the rules and regulations," Holley smirked nudging her partner teasingly. Finn smiled slightly before starting his rules list that Holley had heard on nearly every single mission they had been on. This was becoming a regular thing for him, but Holley didn't mind.

"Yes, well anyways, don't talk to anyone, don't look at anyone, don't check for criminal records or I.D numbers or anything like that," Finn replied as they went to turn to the next street.

"I think you forgot one there Finn," Holley chuckled as Finn gave her a surprised expression. "The most important one. No idling!"

"Oh…. Yes, right," Finn stammered as he glanced over to an amused Holley. He was surprised at himself and his behaviour today. He kept finding his gaze wandering off to a certain female jaguar he called his colleague. But why? Why was his conscience getting to him? This hadn't happened in years? Not since his break up with another certain female over 20 years ago. But he couldn't let his emotions get in the way of his judgement, it wasn't in his nature to give in to his emotions and he was in a too dangerous job to be worrying about relationships or friendships. Despite knowing all this, Finn still couldn't get that one thought out of his mind. _'Just think about it._' What was that meant to mean? But with whatever his conscience had told him, it was obviously working.

"Is something wrong Finn? You've been acting all weird since we entered the airport. I thought it was me who was meant to be concerned not you," Holley said with a hint of concern on her face. She had obviously noticed he was in deep thought, and whenever he was in deep thought, he obviously had something on his mind.

"I'm fine Shiftwell. Now we're entering the market, no matter what you do… don't let anyone con you into buying anything!" Finn explained as they turned the next corner to see many laid out stalls with very eager sellers with all their different objects ready to give to any customer who drove their way. Finn and Holley drove along the first row of stalls trying to ignore the entire progressive in your face sellers who continued to pester them even when they were on the other end of the street.

"Do you even know where Tomber is?" Holley asked as she and Finn tried to make their way through the busy crowd of cars lining up to sell or buy stuff. When they were able to breathe again Finn decided to reply.

"If I am quite honest… no. Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask someone around here." Finn and Holley then decided to separate as they went to ask some stall holders if they knew where their informant was.

Finn was the first to ask someone nearby, but he didn't realize this car was about to try on something he had never witnessed before.

"Bonjour Monsieur, do you know where I can find Tomber?" Finn asked politely before the male car replied, but it wasn't going to be the answer Finn was looking for.

"No, but I know what you'd be interested in!" the car replied and much to Finn's surprise the car pulled out a bottle of a pinkie substance with a love heart on the top of it. Finn was about to turn away but the car continued to speak "you look like you need help how to spice up your love life and Frankie here knows a thing or two about romance. For a limited time only I am giving away a love potion that drives the ladies crazy! Your lady friend over there looks like she needs more love. Buy this and your romantic troubles will disappear!"

"Uh, what?" Finn felt his eyes widen as the car pointed in Holley's direction. She was too busy asking different cars questions about Tomber's location to notice the situation Finn was wrapped in. This guy thought they were a couple? Wait… what?

"Come on, look… your lady friend needs love! And what a better place to give that to her than Paris! It is after all the city of romance is it not? Now like I said before buy a love potion for a limited time only!" the car continued and Finn's expression was sheer shock mixed in with that of horror and embarrassment. He had to get away from this seller, before anyone else got the same impression.

"Uh, no thank you!" Finn finally replied before driving off at a very quick speed. But the car at the stall continued to try and sell his love potion even when Finn had turned the next corner.

"Ok, I'll give you one extra for free!" eventually the stall holder gave up as Holley noticed her colleague vacate the premises and decided to follow him. But it seemed he wasn't the only one who had just had a small problem.

"Finn, I think nearly everyone there is under the impression we are a couple," Holley said glancing at Finn who was still under the shock of what had just happened.

"That fellow just tried to sell me a love potion…" Finn said with that shocked dim-witted expression still attached to his face.

"They tried to sell me air fresheners!" Holley exclaimed before sounding more serious "anyway I know where Tomber is."

"Really? Where's that?" Finn asked snapping out of his daze and focusing on the task at hand.

"Around here," Holley replied as she drove round the next corner where the crowds were becoming less and less and the stall numbers were becoming fewer.

Holley and Finn drove round a few more streets before they finally came to the place where Holley claimed it to be Tomber's parts stall. They were about to enter but were halted when they heard someone shouting inside. And surprisingly enough, it was in perfect English.

"I demand you give me a full refund for this at once Tomber!" a female voice roared from within the premises. The female voice wasn't recognisable, and she had no French accent either. In fact, it was an English accent.

"No can do, you wanted these parts so I did as you asked!" a male voice that Finn recognised to belong to Tomber exclaimed back at the female voice.

"And I really wanted rusty old parts for all that money did I?"

"It was the best I could do! And besides, it matches the rest of your parts!" a sudden loud bang could be heard from within, seconds later the doors burst open and a light blue mini car drove out. She looked upset and angry and both Finn and Holley moved out of her way. She noticed them both and pointed from where she had just come out of.

"What ever you do, do not let this charlatan con you into buying any second hand parts!" she then drove off in a furious rage and a familiar car came out of his stall not even noticing Holley or Finn and he yelled out to the female.

"Oh go away will you already! I don't want you scaring off any more of my customers!" the three wheeled car then shook his hood and sighed "Typical English…" it was then that he noticed Holley and Finn, and he immediately regretted saying that.

"You were never good with women were you Tomber?" Finn asked slyly as Tomber jumped at the sheer sight of Holley and Finn's sudden appearance. Holley noticed he was a little too surprised to see them and thought he would try and make another run for it so she decided to speak before he even got the chance.

"Don't even think about it!" Holley threatened pulling out her shock guns. Tomber grumbled and muttered something in French.

"Oh, it's you again, eh?" Tomber frowned before turning to Finn "what on Earth are you doing here?"

"We are here on a personal matter Tomber, what's the word on the street?" Finn asked.

"Huh? What's personal about that?" Tomber raised an eyebrow; he had no idea what they were on about. Holley sighed and pulled up a picture on her screen, it was a picture of the two cars who took her sister from that video.

"Cutting to the chase… do you recognise these two cars?" Holley asked as Tomber examined the photo closely.

"Wait; is that you they've got hooked to a contraption?" Tomber asked glancing at Holley. She didn't answer so Finn decided to do the talking for her.

"No Tomber that is her sister Hailey. Do you recognise the cars?" Tomber then carried on examining the photo before he shook his head. Holley and Finn glanced at each other sadly as they had both given up hope in any information from Tomber, but their hopes where resurrected when Tomber spoke again "wait… can you zoom in on them?"

Holley zoomed in on the photo so they could only see the two black cars. Tomber's eyes narrowed again, Holley and Finn awaited his judgement and he finally spoke again. And it was some good news, at last!

"There are only two cars that I know of that have no licence plates and that are Rémi and Gustave the two trouble makers who often come around here causing all sorts of trouble! But what do they want with your sister?" Tomber asked and Holley went silent again. So Finn stepped in once more to speak for her.

"That doesn't concern you this time Tomber. Like I said before, this is a personal matter. Do you know where these thugs are located?"

"No I'm afraid not, I don't follow cars around. That's your job Finn!" Tomber pointed out.

"Well thank you Tomber! You have been a big help… now we can go check into the Eiffel tower hotel and hatch are next move," Finn glanced over to Holley and smiled.

"The Eiffel tower hotel? Gosh Finn do you know how much it costs to stay there?" Tomber asked and Finn nodded.

"Just think of it as a small token for a friend in need," Finn then looked deeply into Holley's eyes and smiled at her as did she with him. They did this for several moments before Tomber interrupted.

"Right…" Tomber began feeling tension rise in the room "is there anything else Finn?"

"No, that's all Tomber. Thank you for the help!" Finn replied signaling to Holley to leave. She followed Finn and before they left the shop Tomber whispered to them.

"I would prefer you didn't tell anyone about that incident with that crazy mini car. It would be bad for my image!" Finn and Holley nodded and smiled.

"Our lips are sealed," Finn smirked shutting his mouth and encouraging Holley to do the same. After saying their goodbyes to Tomber they made their way to the hotel they would be staying at not even thinking that they would see Tomber again for a while. But they would! And not in a nice way either!

…

"Ugh!" Rémi groaned in sheer annoyance as he lifted his metal weight machine throttle back in the air. "For the last time, tell us where we can locate Holley Shiftwell!"

"You know, you cars actually make steam when you are angry. Don't get too furious! You may explode!" Hailey laughed still feeling pain throughout each dent she had now gained from all these smart remarks. She had dents everywhere! On her hood, boot, sides and even some minor dents underneath her body. But she still went on! She actually enjoyed getting on these cars whit. It was quite entertaining to see a French car swear!

"Oh you little piece of—ugh…" Rémi sighed as he decided to come off of the weight machine and drive over to Hailey.

"Anyway, you should quit while you're ahead! I haven't spoken to my sister for over two years now! Last time I checked she was in Japan," Hailey explained.

"Well we checked there and guess what genius? She wasn't there!" Gustave called out as he and a few other black cars surrounded her.

"What do you want with her anyway? It's not like you'll get a great amount of money for a ransom anyway!" Hailey asked and the room completely roared in hysterics. Once they had finally died down Rémi stopped cackling like a maniac and drove up close to Hailey. So close even that she could smell his breath, and it wasn't particularly nice to endure.

"What gave you the impression we wanted her for money? No, we want revenge!" Rémi whispered menacingly. Hailey tried to move out of his way so she couldn't smell his breath but the hooks she was attached to prevented her from doing that.

"But what has she done that could anger you so much?" Hailey whimpered slightly as another sharp pain spread across her body like wild fire as she continued to struggle.

"Don't you know? Didn't your daddy or sister ever tell you what they did to us?" Hailey felt her eyes widen. He did NOT just mention her father did he?

"What?" Hailey gasped.

"That's right! That little daddy of yours tried to arrest us! But then he met his doom! And as for your darling big sister, well after she had us arrested years after in Japan for something else. Now we just want her dead!" Gustave explained and Hailey felt her mouth open.

"Wait… you're saying my fathers death was no accident? He wasn't hit by a laser beam in the line of duty?" suddenly a loud clang could be heard throughout the building and a yellow car made his appearance. It was Larry the American Lemon car who limped towards Hailey chuckling viciously. He had a certain glint in his eyes which made Hailey shiver. There was more to her father's death that her mother hadn't told her about! These idiots weren't responsible for his death were they?

"That's what they wanted you to think. But you really shouldn't believe what the police say these days. Besides, you shall see your sister again soon! A small family reunion before the destruction and mayhem begins!" Larry smirked and Hailey sighed and looked at the floor. She was leading her sister to her death! And there was nothing she could do to stop it!

A sudden voice broke in as the doors opened and two cars entered. One was a dark green car and the other was obviously a member of the gang. The black car led the green car to the front where Larry, Gustave and Rémi were and they spoke.

"Larry, this car has some valuable information he would like to share with you!" the black car spoke before reversing back allowing the green car to drive forward towards Larry.

"Bonjour Monsieur, I hear you are looking for two British agent cars?" the green car began.

"Yes?" Larry asked hoping this was some half decent news.

"Well I was out at the market today and I noticed them drive to Tomber's parts stall. They matched your descriptions! A purple British female jaguar and a male British Aston martin. They were only in talking to Tomber for a few moments before heading off. I saw them with my own eyes!" the green car exclaimed receiving a smile from Larry. He was obviously pleased with this information.

"Well thanks for the information there…" Larry then turned and raised his voice "Gustave! Rémi! Go find this Tomber from the market and bring him here. He will tell us what we need to know!"

"Already on it Larry," Gustave called out as he and Rémi headed out to car-nap poor Tomber. The green car on other hand had only one thought in mind; it was a shame Larry had a different opinion to this.

"Perhaps a reward is in order for my great deeds? It will help keep my mouth shut!" the car suggested and Larry turned to him and grinned. The car would never see it coming!

"Of course! You shall have some kind of reward," Larry turned away for a few seconds before turning back to the car. He held some sort of weapon on his left tyre and the green cars eyes began to widen. All the gang members noticed what their second in command leader was doing and immediately moved out of the way. Hailey watched the scene in horror but couldn't do anything about it. She could only just sit there and watch this madness unfold. "But you have seen too much my friend… and for that, this is the only reward I can offer!" a very sharp click could be heard from the weapon and the green car quivered in fear.

"I won't say a word! I swear!"

"I'm sorry, but it's too late for that…" Larry spoke before a sudden explosion could be heard throughout the building. Larry had fired a miniature missile at the poor car and it immediately went up in flames. There was more to this Lemon that met the eye, and that scared Hailey. There was something about him that she couldn't get out of her mind! It was as if… she had seen him before.

"Now let's call the Boss. She may want to meet our old friend Tomber!" Larry called out before turning to Hailey "and your life will be over before you know it… watch your tongue girl. Unless you want to end up like this car here," Larry pointed to the wreckage of what had once been a car. Hailey gulped, she now knew what it felt like to fear for her life. But it wasn't just her life she was worried about… it was Holley's too!

…

"Wow Finn! You never told me this place was **this** fancy!" Holley exclaimed a mixture of shock and joy evident in her voice. This made Finn smile; he liked it when Holley was happy, somehow it made him happy too.

"Yes, I came here once before, Friendly service too. Nothing at all like some of the hotels around here," Finn replied as they entered the doors of this fancy hotel. Both Holley and Finn made their way to the reception desk and awaited the desk clerk to appear. Seconds later a bright chirpy female car appeared and she smiled at the two.

"Bonjour and welcome to the Eifel tower hotel, one of the highest rated hotels in all of Paris. How may I help you two?"

"Yes we would like to book a room for a few nights," Finn explained as the woman began typing codes onto her computer.

"Of course! Name please?"

"Oh yes… McMissile!" Finn said but the woman had obviously got the wrong impression already.

"Ok, Mr and Mrs McMissile!" the woman blurted out and Holley felt shock go throughout her body. Not again!

"No I'm Shiftwell…" Holley blurted receiving a glare off of Finn as he nudged her with his front tyre.

"No dear you are McMissile now!" Finn urged to Holley to go along with whatever he was on about before turning to the woman behind the desk and smiled "sorry about that, we've only just gotten married and I guess she still isn't used to her new name."

"Oh I see, don't worry Sir we have tons of newly weds come here nearly every week! I know what it's like here. Oh and congratulations by the way!" the woman then searched to see some available rooms whilst Holley gave Finn some funny looks. He would have to explain himself later on!

'_What on Earth is he doing?' _Holley thought to herself. She felt her temperature rise and her engine levels raise as she continued to think about this very moment. **She** of all cars was pretending to be Finn loving wife! She may have had the odd fantasy about her and Finn one day ending up together, but she never considered the thought of being his wife! It made Holley feel warm inside yet unnerving at the same time! She knew deep down it was all a dream, she and Finn would never be together! And if she admitted her feelings for him she had no idea how he would react! She was chasing a fantasy, but it didn't stop her! She would play this act well! Well at least until she found out what the heck he was playing at!

"You're in luck Sir! We have a decent room with a balcony overlooking the Eifel tower. It's perfect for any couple such as yourselves!" the woman explained. Finn noticed her accent wasn't French, was it in fact American?

"Your accent? Are you from America?" Finn asked casually. The car smiled and nodded a little.

"Yes, I'm working here part time before I go back to New York," the car then pushed a button onto the desk and handed it to Finn "your key Sir. Room 182 on the 4th floor, enjoy your honeymoon! It's a nice change to see someone who can speak English for once!" the car whispered smirking.

"Thank you, or should I say Merci as we are in France," Finn winked as he and Holley drove over to the elevator. She still felt that warm feeling that she often felt when she was with Finn. But she really needed to get a grip on herself! Wasn't she trying to keep her feelings for him a secret? She would really have to do a better job of concealing them from him!

As they entered the elevator some French song was playing and Holley and Finn waited in silence for a couple of moments before Finn decided to speak. "Listen Holley… I'm sorry about putting you in that situation back there, I thought it would look more realistic if we pretended to be a married couple. I knew it wouldn't be safe if I had given your name, I mean you may be picked up by the same cars who car-napped your sister. We can't be too careful here you know."

"Yes, but Mr and Mrs McMissile? How am I supposed to act as your wife when I'm your partner?" Holley asked. She found the question silly but said it anyway.

"It's only for outside the room, while we're inside we'll crack on and track this so called Rémi and Gustave down. Then perhaps we'll be able get somewhere and find your sister!" Finn glanced at Holley and noticed she was looking down at the floor. She sighed sadly and then glanced at Finn "Anything wrong Holley?"

"I guess I'm just worried about her as all. Who knows where she is and who these idiots are and what they are doing to her. But I tell you now Finn, if they harm or even scratch her a little… their going down!" Holley threatened and Finn smirked a little.

"Now this is a side I have never seen to you Holley."

"What's that Finn?"

"You're being an overprotective sister. And don't worry Holley, if they even as to lift a tyre on her, they will have me to answer to as well," Finn reassured just as the elevator went ping and the doors automatically opened.

"Thank you sir," Holley smiled as they drove out. Finn noticed several cars glance in their direction and he knew he would have to resolve what Holley had just said.

"Oh Holley don't be a fool! We are married now and you should call me by my first name!" Finn called out and before Finn and Holley were able to find their room, the crowd of cars began to cheer and call out.

"Congratulations for the newly weds!" All Holley and Finn could do was smile, but inwardly they were grimacing. They didn't know how much longer they could keep this up. And Holley was beginning to doubt her emotions. She feared her feelings would come out to Finn before this mission was over. And Finn meanwhile feared he was becoming attracted to his colleague. But there was more to both of them that met the eye. And before this mission was over, tears would be shed, lives would be lost, memories would come back to haunt someone and most of all… love would be found… eventually anyways!

Authors note: Well here was this chapter! Forgive my French! I used to do it at school but then I had to do other subjects so I can only give you a few key words. But how was this chapter? Good? I hope anyways. Well next up we'll see the 'Boss' again and Tomber will make another appearance! But not for good reasons… and of course Finn will have a brief encounter with his past and he shall reveal to Holley about it! That's what's next up anyway! In the meantime, please review! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5: Memories back to haunt you

Chapter 5: Memories come back to haunt you…

Authors note: Thank you all for the reviews! I never realized how much this story would become a success until now. I'm glad it meets to your approval everyone and keep the reviews coming! Anyway in this chapter we'll learn more about Finn's past and what happened 20 years before! And something will happen to poor Tomber! Anyway enough of my blabbing! On with the chapter…

"Finn, this room is extremely fancy! Have you even checked the bathroom?" Holley exclaimed happily as she drove all around the room in a mad rush to check all the fancy gadgets that waited to be pressed. Finn meanwhile stood there smiling at his colleague. He was staring again!

'_Finn you idiot, snap out of it! She will notice!' _Finn's subconscious screamed at him but he continued to smile at her anyways. He didn't know what was wrong with him lately but he found himself growing more and more attracted to Holley! It was so wrong, but so right at the same time! He couldn't be falling for her? Could he?

"Oh my!" Finn was suddenly snapped out of his gaze when he heard Holley gasp loudly. He thought she had noticed him noticing her, but she was facing the other direction. She had opened the automatic doors that led to the balcony and drove onto the balcony. Finn followed her and parked next to her on the balcony. They could see the Eiffel tower and a lot of Paris from this view. It was growing very dark, very fast and all of the lights were turning on at this point. It would be a romantic time for any couple, but Holley and Finn weren't a couple… yet anyway…

"Would you take a look at that view?" Holley sighed happily "Breathtaking…" but she didn't notice Finn's gaze. As she stood there gazing out at the view of Paris, Finn had his view on something else. And surprisingly, he couldn't stop himself.

"Yes indeed it is," Finn said softly not even taking his gaze off of Holley for a second. He now realized why Mater was so attracted to her on their first mission, but he was unaware of how attractive she was until now. But why was that? She was a smart and quick car who would go for younger cars, not ones like Finn McMissile. And what was wrong with him suddenly feeling less appealing to female cars anyway? Perhaps it was the French air or something… or perhaps it was him secretly beginning to get feelings for a certain purple jaguar… but Finn refused to believe it. Well yet anyway…

"Finn are you alright?" Holley asked turning to face him, her eyes were slanted. Oh no, she had noticed his stare! Not good! "You were giving me a weird look as all… is there something wrong with my tyres? Or my paintwork even?" Finn snapped out of his gaze yet again at the fretting female. She hadn't got the idea of him staring at her that was a relief!

"No my dear, you are in perfect shape!" Finn blurted unexpectedly. Holley blinked and her face went blank. He did not just call her 'My dear?' And he didn't me that she was attractive? Holley was confused at this point.

"What?" Holley asked blankly. Finn noticed the situation he had put himself in and decided to resolve it by changing the subject.

"Would you like to take a drive Miss Shiftwell? I hear Paris is a rather pretty place to be in at night!" Finn then reversed into their room and so did Holley. She smirked and said.

"What happened to Mrs McMissile?"

"That's only pretend Holley! I mean there is no way we could ever be married!" Finn chuckled but Holley didn't. Actually she felt herself begin to feel terribly sad. Her heart even cried out in sorrow at this point. After noticing Holley's reaction Finn too felt himself to frown. She was deeply hurt by what he had said. His suspicions were now becoming reality. The normal Holley Shiftwell would laugh back and call it preposterous! But this Holley Shiftwell was different. She seemed unhappy to be turned down by him as a suitable wife. And the thing was with Finn, he regretted every word of what he had just carelessly blurted out.

"Oh, right… of course!" Holley finally said after a few seconds of tense silence she then faked a smiled and said in a normal voice "Now what happened to this drive we were meant to be going on?"

…

Meanwhile in the market area of Paris many cars were shutting up their stalls for the night. Packing up their stalls none of the cars were aware of the two suspicious cars making their way through the streets with nasty gazes attached to their faces. And for those who did recognise the cars, they knew to leave well enough alone. These cars were soon recognised to be Rémi and Gustave the two black French cars who roamed the streets causing trouble. And the very same cars who had car-napped Hailey Shiftwell from her college in England. These guys were on a mission, and it involved a certain three wheeled car…

After Holley and Finn had left his shop, Tomber had decided to continue working until 7 o'clock when he and his friends all packed up their stalls to go back home. Tomber did this day in and day out and nothing drastic ever happened, but today was different…

"Au revoir Tomber!" a car called out as he departed the building they used as a shop. Tomber glanced in his direction and nodded.

"Au revoir Gus," Tomber called out before being left all alone to lock up his shop before heading home. But as Tomber turned and locked up his shop he noticed two black cars in his rear view mirrors. Weren't they the two trouble makers he had told Holley and Finn about hours before? This couldn't be good!

Tomber slowly turned around and noticed Rémi and Gustave smirking and chuckling menacingly. They remained where they were and Tomber decided to do something they were expecting him to do. Tomber drove as fast as he could away from the two thugs but they had fooled him. They had split up and while Gustave was following from behind, Rémi was out of sight only for Tomber to come into an encounter with him on the next corner. Tomber swerved to avoid them but lost his balance and did several flips in the air before landing back on his wheels. Curse his three wheels!

Tomber was surrounded by the two cars that looked very much like old French Renault's. Their models were very shabby and rust patches were evident everywhere, they were definitely in a worse condition than Tomber… in fact they were a lot like Lemon cars, but they didn't seem to break down as much as Lemon cars did. They were fast, and Tomber was outnumbered 2 to 1. This could go down very well or it could go drastically wrong… and which one do you think was a reliable option?

"Now listen you piece of junk, we can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way," Gustave slowly grumbled as he and Rémi closed in on their target. Tomber just spat in disgrace, but he was laughing. He found this situation amusing?

"Hah you call me a piece of junk? Have you looked in your rear view mirrors recently?" Tomber asked smirking as both cars glanced across to their rear view mirrors and then looked at each other with puzzled expressions before Tomber continued. "Or perhaps you cannot see yourselves through them because they too are covered in rust and muck from a lack of use!" Rémi glared at the three wheeled car and drove closer to him.

"Now listen you three wheeled contraption, we have been sent to get you for our own business. You either come with us willingly or you can end up arriving with several dents in your side doors from gun shots!" Rémi hissed as a gun popped out of his side and pointed directly at Tomber. He ignored the gun and returned the cars glares before reversing back a little. He was about to do something he hadn't done for some time!

Tomber started his engine much to Gustave and Rémi's surprise and spoke in a gruff tone "You'll have to catch me first before you take me anywhere!" and with that Tomber suddenly floored it and jumped over the two Renault's and drove as fast as he could down the next street. Suddenly both cars opened fire and Tomber tried to avoid their bullets but several hit his sides. He was unexpectedly hit by a single bullet on one of his tyres causing him to skid around the road and eventually stop to inspect the damage not even remembering he had two cars pursuing him from behind.

But poor Tomber didn't have time to react when suddenly Gustave rammed himself into his front smashing his hood in almost on impact. Tomber would have backed away from the raging car if it wasn't for Rémi slamming into his back. Tomber pushed against the two cars which only made his situation worse! But eventually the pain became too severe for Tomber that he released his push of force on the two Renault's and they caught him off guard by slamming into his side and sending him flying into a wall. But unfortunately this time Tomber didn't land on his wheels and before he knew it he was upside down. Rémi and Gustave surrounded the lopsided three wheeled car and cackled menacingly. No one was about now so the hope of having help was very dim indeed. Tomber glared at the two cars as they got out another sort of weapon. But it wasn't a gun to be exact! As a matter of fact it looked very similar to the electric shocks Holley Shiftwell had, but these looked a lot more menacing than hers. Tomber was suddenly zapped with the weapon and he soon found himself slipping into unconsciousness. But before he was completely out, he heard Rémi say something into his microphone.

"We got him Larry. Tell the Boss we're bringing her an old friend," and with that, Tomber was out cold.

…

The streets of Paris were now light up with different coloured lights that filled up and changed the atmosphere entirely. Businesses had shut for the night but restaurants and night clubs opened up for cars to go to. All the streets were flooded with couples and French cars either going for a meal or just going around for a drive. The roads were less crowded than in the day time but it was still quite crowded from the couples who had now decided to go out for an evening meal or a drink with friends.

Holley and Finn exited the hotel and made their way to the lesser crowded part of Paris for a small drive and talk before they came back and got some sleep before they continued their investigating again the next day. Their conversations varied, they talked a little about their families, their investigation and their job roles. But Holley's story was intriguing Finn as she went on about a certain family member of hers… her father.

"So your father was a secret agent?" Finn asked as they drove towards a bridge that made its way over the river; Holley smiled and nodded before she replied.

"Yes and he was a darn good one too! He didn't work for C.H.R.O.M.E though. He worked in Japan as a field agent and sometimes even ran the technologies to help other agents with their investigations. But when he came home he often spent time with me and my sister. He often took us out to a small café at the end of our road in London where me and Hailey would share an ice cream sundae and often fight over it; he also got Hailey into monster truck wrestling! This didn't impress mother at all. He was my inspiration and when I was in school everyone laughed at my career choice, they thought the idea of becoming a secret agent was preposterous! But my father said I could do anything if I believed in it, and I finally went to college and began to study for a degree in secret agent technology so I could go to Japan and join my father! But I never got that far…" Holley's voice became a little distant as she ended her life story. Finn decided to ask her a very delicate question so he decided to take the slight precaution on how he said it. He didn't want to hurt her feelings any more than he did tonight!

"And may I ask how your father died?" Finn asked softly and Holley glanced at him sadly but decided to reply.

"Well… he was training with his colleagues in London one day and he was suddenly triggered by one of the explosives. It was an accident of course but it killed him and several of his partners. We were devastated and it hit us hard, especially my sister! She was hit the worst; she refused to speak to anyone and refused to go to school. My mother was in depression for a short while and it was up to me to keep the family together! This set me back a few years before I graduated college and then decided to wait a few years before I got a job in Japan. My mother was, of course unhappy with me becoming involved with secret agents after what had happened to my father, but I assured her I was only going to be technical… now look at me! I'm a field agent!" Holley smiled again as they stopped on the bridge.

"He would be very proud of you Holley," Finn assured smiling his prideful smile which made Holley blush again. She nodded and then looked over the bridge and into the distance. The Eiffel tower could be seen clearly from the bridge but it was more into the distance from where Holley and Finn were parked. After minutes of silence Holley decided to speak, she brought up a completely different subject to the one previous but curiosity had wanted her to ask him this for quite a while now and she decided to make this the moment when she would ask him.

"Finn, would you mind if I asked you something personal?"

"No I don't mind, ask away," Finn replied before Holley asked the big question that would trigger some bad memories.

"Have you ever been in a relationship?"

Finn sighed; he knew she was going to ask him that some day! And he knew he couldn't keep it a secret forever. It would have to come out some time or other!

"Yes I was… a long time ago," Finn said very distantly as he looked down at the water underneath the bridge. Holley gave him a curious glance and asked more questions.

"So what happened?" Holley asked knowing that Finn would probably not want to talk about it, but she was driven by curiosity. She wanted to know if there was someone else in his life.

"Are you sure you want to hear it? The only ones who know are Tomber, Siddeley and… Leland Turbo," Holley nodded as Finn looked down at the floor, it took him longer to say Leland Turbo because Finn knew his friend was dead thanks to them blasted Lemons from the oil platform! Finn then noticed where he was parked he looked up and glanced around the bridge before continuing to speak "In fact… this is the very bridge!"

"Huh?" Holley asked not even knowing what he was going on about.

"This is the very bridge where me and Collette first met and also later on broke up our relationship!" Finn exclaimed still glancing around. Holley on the other hand gave him a weird glance.

"Collette? Was that her name?" Holley asked as Finn turned to face her again, his face was full of sadness and guilt. There was more to the story! She knew it! And now Holley wanted to find out more about this so called Collette who Finn was once in love with.

"I'm afraid so… she was Collette Moteur, and she was once my dear heart. Until her father ruined everything!" Finn said this nastily. It was obvious to Holley that he obviously despised this Collette's father. But she felt her engine rate go down again. She began to feel that sad feeling again as Finn used dear words to describe this Collette. She must have been a better woman to him than Holley could ever be! This made Holley's heart cry out! How she wanted to admit her feelings to him, but she couldn't!

"Oh… so what happened between you two? And when was this?" Holley asked.

"We met over 20 years ago… I was a new fresh out of the academy C.H.R.O.M.E agent along with my dear friend Leland Turbo. We came to Paris for our first ever mission to track some good for nothing frauds down and hand them over to the police. When I first met Collette it was on a busy afternoon on this very bridge when me and Leland were making our way to the police HQ. She was a very famous journalist for the Paris magazine and did all sorts of articles. When I met her again we got talking and I invited her for a meal out at one of the old restaurants and I think that is where our relationship kicked off. We didn't have much in common, but she loved to ask me about my career and what cases I was doing. But at the same time Leland warned me that relationships could get in the way of our work. I didn't pay attention to him but I now regret not following his advice!" Finn then paused for a moment before Holley asked him another question.

"So why did you split up?" Finn sighed before replying.

"Well after several successful missions the police decided to give me and Leland a harder case to crack. We had to track down and arrest the thieves who had stolen the famous painting the Cara 'Mona' Lisa right of from under the bumpers of the security cars guarding it! It didn't take much to track down the thieves but with what happened next changed everything for me and Collette!" Finn looked away for a moment before continuing. This was hard to get off his motor! He hadn't thought of this for years and the sudden thought of all these events made him feel very unhappy again. The past was creeping back on him!

"Well?" Holley pressed on for Finn to continue; he took a deep breath and explained the rest of what had happened.

"Collette's father was the master thief! When me and Leland had tracked him and his gang down we couldn't believe it. I had two options: either let him get away and risk my entire career, or have him arrested and risk everything between me and Collette. But I never realized what such a deep impact it caused for her and me. As soon as the news broke out Collette was pestered by the press and fired from her job, she was publically humiliated and so was I. Then one day I decided to end it all… on this very bridge where we had met and fell in love, I ended our relationship for good. But it didn't go down well with Collette. She and I argued and she said she hated me so much she would one day get revenge on what I had done to her. And when she drove away I learned something, relationships are dangerous things to have when you're a spy. It broke my heart and I never saw her again…" and with that Finn glanced away and everything went silent.

"Is that why you were so up tight about friendships and relationships?" Holley asked receiving a small nod from Finn who still refused to look at her.

"She was the only woman I ever cared about, and she took advantage of it. I learned a very important lesson that day I last saw her. Never give in to your emotions!" Finn spoke professionally and Holley couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Finn, you may have had it tough with Collette! But that doesn't stop you from finding someone else! I mean, I have had my fair share of heartbreaks but I have learnt to get on with life and move on. And you're wrong Finn, you cannot stop your emotions whether you want to or not. Love is love and it is the greatest force of all!" Holley spoke proudly and Finn finally passed her a small smile.

"You know Miss Shiftwell; you're a good advice giver. But love isn't my strong point. And I cannot afford to loose to love again with my career," Finn replied sounding determined.

"Yes of course… because you're Finn McMissile! The greatest C.H.R.O.M.E agent who's ever lived! An engine of pure titanium!" Holley joked nudging Finn slightly. Her voice had a hint of sarcasm in it, she was obviously a bit upset to be turned down by him a second time today!

"Yes…" Finn replied slowly as he was thinking "but that doesn't stop you from wanting a relationship outside the job. I mean you're young and there are plenty of cars your age to go out with," Finn explained smiling slightly.

'_But none of them are as worthy of my love as you Finn, and if only you knew how much I care for you… then perhaps you could love me back!' _Holley thought to herself as her eyes gazed into Finn's soft green eyes as he continued to talk to her. He didn't even notice her staring at him again, for a while anyway

'_But you are not worthy of his love! And besides, he said he could never love you. So your love is dead girl! Why love someone who doesn't love you back?' _Holley's subconscious asked her.

'_Because he is always there for me! He's helping me find my sister for crying out loud! I never really loved Mater anyways… it's always been Finn. And now I realize that I feel it's too late!' _Holley replied back to her mind.

'_But nothing can become of it! And if it should, it would only end in tragedy, like Romeo and Juliet!'_ her subconscious spoke to her and all Holley wanted to do was shut it up! She knew it was right but she didn't want to be told the painful truth.

'_I don't care; it will never stop me from loving him! Nothing you say or do can stop me from loving him! This Collette obviously took advantage of him when he was younger and I would never do something like that to him! I couldn't! So go away and leave me alone! I don't need you to tell me whether he loves me or not!'_ Holley yelled back to her mind. She hardly noticed Finn give her a concerned look as she battled with her subconscious about her feelings for him. It was his voice that snapped her back into reality.

"Everything alright Miss Shiftwell?" Finn asked with the amount of concern evident in his voice. Holley stopped what she was thinking and smiled as if nothing was wrong.

"Yes I am fine Finn! I guess the French city air is finally getting to my mind now! Would you mind if we made it back to the hotel?"

"Of course not!" Finn yawned a little "I'm actually quite tired. And we need some shut eye if we are going to start tracking down your sister tomorrow don't we?"

"Yes, well let's go then," Holley said as they turned and drove off of the bridge and made their way back to the hotel.

"And Holley?" Finn began as he stopped driving and parked up for a second.

"Yes Finn?" Holley turned to face him awaiting his reply.

"I would prefer you didn't tell anyone about my past… it was hard for me and only those closest to me know what had happened. And I would prefer it if I kept it that way!" Finn explained receiving a reassuring nod from Holley.

"Of course Finn, your secret is safe with me!" Holley assured.

"Thank you Holley! It's made me feel a whole lot better getting it off my engine!" Finn exclaimed.

"Anytime Finn… anytime!" and with that Holley and Finn drove back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrows events. They needed some sleep if they were going to save Hailey from this French gang!

But nothing is ever what it seems…

Authors note: Ok so this chapter didn't have much go on, sorry! But anyway in the next chapter it will be entirely set in the past and Finn and Collette will be mainly in it. Also Leland Turbo will make his appearance into the chapter (when he was young as well as Finn) and Siddeley will also be in it briefly. Holley, Hailey or the other characters will not be in the next chapter as it reveals more about Finn's past! I hope you look forward to seeing the young Finn McMissile! I sure do! Anyway in the mean time, review! Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6: Young and foolish

Chapter 6: When we were young and foolish…

Authors note: Well here's the chapter set in the past. Leland, Siddeley and Finn are the only agents in this chapter. No Holley I'm afraid. But her past shall be revealed later on by one of my villains. Anyway, I didn't get as many reviews for my last chapter so I hope this makes better progress than the previous one! But the next chapter will be better! More shall happen I promise. Anyway enjoy!

Over 20 years ago in the same place they call London, two cars made their way out of a secret building and boarded onto a private aircraft. Now you're probably wondering why we are following these two cars in particular… well they didn't know it yet, but one day they would be known as some of the best agents in all of C.H.R.O.M.E. But we're going a bit to ahead of ourselves. These two cars had started out just like any other agents; they were rookies who had just graduated C.H.R.O.M.E academy. And they were making their way to Paris for the first mission of their entire lives! But I wouldn't say it was going to be easy! In fact Agent's Leland Turbo and Finn McMissile were about to get more than they bargained for.

"All set fellows?" Siddeley the private jet asked through his microphone. The two cars inside geared up for take off; they strapped themselves in before Leland replied.

"All set old boy! Ready when you are!" and within a few minuets they were in the air.

"Paris here we come!" Siddeley exclaimed.

…

"Finn you alright chap?" Leland Turbo asked his colleague Finn McMissile as they sat waiting for Siddeley to arrive in Paris.

"Yes I am fine Leland. I just still can't believe we have finally graduated C.H.R.O.M.E academy!" Finn exclaimed smiling slightly, Leland joined his smile before glancing out the window.

"Yes and about time too. Took us 5 years of hard work to achieve our goal, But we have done it! And I still can't believe you were the smartest pupil in our class!" Leland replied.

"Well after spending all that time around weapons and other spies I was able to get the hang on things," Finn explained "And they let us take guns with us! I didn't think they would let us have weapons on our first assignment!"

"Let's hope we don't need them," Leland muttered, but loud enough so Finn could hear him.

"What's the matter Leland? Afraid to use your ammo?" Finn teased receiving a small glare from his friend.

"No, I just don't feel comfortable shooting someone on our first mission. Speaking of which, what is our assignment again?"

"I don't know. They told us that we would have to go to the police HQ to see what our mission is. And you'll have to be comfortable Leland, if a criminal resists you, you have no choice but to open fire," Finn explained receiving a small _"I don't believe you"_ shake from his colleague.

"You remember everything they told you don't you Finn? Remind me again how you are **not** trying to be better than me?" Leland said with a hint of disbelief evident in his voice.

"Oh Leland, you know that I wouldn't have made it through the academy without your support and friendship! I'm not better than you. I will always support your advice and opinions!" Finn reassured and Leland let off a small sigh.

"We shall see," Leland replied smirking a little as his friend nudged him with his tyre. Leland did the same. They were always best friends no matter what the circumstance!

But neither of them knew a woman could jeopardize their friendship, and perhaps their careers along with it…

…

After landing in Paris and departing with Siddeley Leland and Finn began to make their way through the streets of Paris. It was busy and chaotic at this hour! Cars were making their ways around the city either on their way to work or just on other matters of their own. The two young rookie agent cars made their way through the crowds and tried to avoid loosing too much paint! As they made their way onto a bridge Finn and Leland noticed the crowds were beginning to decrease and they began talking.

"So which way is the police station?" Finn asked curiously as Leland looked at his tracking device.

"Uh, I don't know. The crowds around here aren't giving me a clear signal. We'll have to find it ourselves, and if that fails we'll have to ask someone!" Leland replied receiving an un-eager look from Finn.

"That's the thing Leland, I don't know much French!" Finn explained sounding a little embarrassed.

"Neither do I Finn, but that's only an option. We can find this police station on our own," Leland replied as they continued to drive on the long and busy bridge. The two cars continued to drive across the bridge until someone pushed into Finn unexpectedly and he bumped into another car. He hardly noticed it but the other car gave him an odd glance before speaking.

"Excusez-moi," the car called out and Finn immediately turned to the car and apologised. He noticed the car was a female, and a very pretty one at that!

"Oh excuse me there, please accept my apologies!" Finn spoke out and the car smiled.

"Oh English…" she muttered before replying "It's alright, I understand the roads are busy at this time of day." Finn gazed at her with adoring eyes. She was the prettiest car he had ever seen. She was a red French Vauxhall with dark red lips and a lighter shade of red on her body. Her back was curved inwards and she wore a very attractive smile. Her eyes were brown also, a very nice shade of brown to Finn.

"I'm Finn McMissile!" Finn blurted unexpectedly and the car was taken aback for a second before replying.

"Well it's nice to meet you eh, Finn! I am Collette Moteur!" the car replied grinning as they got acquainted.

Leland Turbo still continued to make his way through the crowds to try and make a view for the other side of the bridge. He glanced behind him to see if Finn was following and when he noticed he wasn't he immediately stopped. Leland drove back a little to see where his friend had disappeared off to but soon found him chatting up a female. A very pretty female… very unlike Finn McMissile!

"Finn! There you are, we need to get to the police head quarters ASAP!" Leland interrupted the talking pair. Collette turned to face Leland and Finn spoke out.

"Oh, Collette… this is my friend and partner Leland Turbo!" Finn pointed and Collette smiled politely at Leland.

"Bonjour there!" Collette greeted.

"Yes hello," Leland said quite rudely "now come on Finn, we'll be late otherwise!"

"Did you say you need to go to the police station?" Collette asked curiously.

"Yes madam, on our own private business," Leland said protectively. For some strange reason he didn't trust this woman, the way she flirted with Finn said it all.

"Well I know the way there, and you're heading in the wrong direction!" Collette chuckled much to Leland's displeasure.

"Well could you lead us there Collette?" Finn asked politely and she nodded.

"I am heading that way now anyway. And it'll give me more time to talk to you!" Collette smiled at Finn and Leland sighed and rolled his eyes at her.

"Fine then madam can you just lead us there please?" Leland asked impatiently. Collette passed him a small glare and nodded.

"Yes… yes I shall," Collette muttered thinking _'Moron'_.

After leading Leland and Finn to the police station Collette smiled and said "Well here it is, it was nice speaking to you Finn," before driving away.

"Yes you too Miss Collette!" Finn called out to her in a dumbfounded manner. Leland groaned and frowned at his partner as they made their way inside the police headquarters. After meeting the chief of the police force they got straight into their first official case.

"So, Agent Leland Turbo and Agent Finn McMissile," the chief spoke with a very thick French accent. He was another French Vauxhall but was a completely different make and model to that of Collette's. And besides which, he was green! He was parked behind a desk in a large room and sat in front of Leland and Finn as they awaited their commands for their first assignment. The chief decided to get the pleasantries out of the way before they got down to business. "Welcome to Paris police HQ and I believe this is your first ever assignment, Oui?"

"Yes sir! We have graduated out of C.H.R.O.M.E academy after years of training. And they believe us to be ready for our first ever mission," Leland explained trying to sound as professional as possible in order to impress the French chief of police. And it worked! Well kind of anyway…

"Right, well you have a chance to prove yourselves as worthy agents for your firm. But we decided to give you a simple case, as it is after all your first time in the spy business." Finn and Leland nodded at this before the chief continued "We have a couple of Italian cars acting suspiciously in the city and we would like you both to track these down and see what they are up to. Now C.H.R.O.M.E gave you weapons right?"

"Yes sir!" Finn explained as he and Leland both got their guns out to show the chief before putting them away again.

"Excellent! They may prove in use, we don't know how dangerous these cars are so weapons could be an option."

"But what suspicious activities have these so called cars been involved in sir?" Leland asked and the chief moved away from his desk and a small screen popped up in the centre of the room. It showed several pictures and videos of the cars Leland and Finn were supposed to track down acting suspiciously. One was parked outside a shop standing guard while the others were in the shop doing something with the shop keeper, and when they came out they had something with them that looked like it resembled money.

"All of these were taken with our security cameras; we need you to investigate this further. And we are full with cases currently so I think its best to give you both your opportunity to shine as it were! What do you say? Are you in or not?" Finn and Leland glanced at each other and did their usual smile and nod before turning back to the chief.

"Oui, we're in!" they both spoke out at once. This was their first official case, and nothing was going to screw it up now!

As Finn and Leland exited the police headquarters they noticed the paparazzi and camera crews were all outside filming some convict car going into the police station. Both cars decided to get out of the way before the reporters would want to interview them on something they had no clue on. Leland was the first to make it out of the crowd of cars and cameras but Finn was still in the crowd. And he had a reason to be. Near the back of the queue of cars with their cameras stood a car he had met earlier. It was Collette! Finn smiled and made his way over to her trying to avoid the cameras and cars as he went.

"Collette? What are you doing here?" Finn called out and the red Vauxhall glanced around to hear where her name had been called from. When she noticed Finn she drove over to him and grinned forgetting what she was currently meant to be doing.

"Monsieur McMissile! What are you doing here?" Collette asked curiously.

"On a private matter and you should know because you brought me here. But what are you doing here? With all these reporters?" Finn asked looking back at the crowd of cars trying to get into the building to film the car who had driven in moments before.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, I am a reporter! Quite famous actually for fashion and court cases. The car who just drove inside is in court currently for a murder he claims to not committed, but we shall see on that matter." Collette explained this to Finn and he was in a bit of shock. He never knew she was a reporter!

"Really? A reporter? Well I haven't exactly met a real famous reporter before, but I have been in training for the past 5 years so I haven't had much time to meet anyone," Finn replied feeling a little embarrassed. She must have a big and famous social life, unlike him who barely had any friends.

"Really? And why's that?" Collette asked and Finn signified her to move away from the crowd. Once they were far enough away Finn lent into Collette and whispered.

"I'm a secret agent," Collette took a few seconds to react and chuckled a little. At first Finn thought she didn't believe her but after she stopped chuckling she smiled and nudged him a little.

"I like you Finn. You're funny and smart and I like your character! And if you're a secret agent you must be pretty nifty with all those gadgets!" Collette exclaimed and Finn felt himself blush a little. He then did something he never thought he'd do! And it shocked him more than anyone else!

"Collette, would you like to accompany me to dinner tonight?" Finn blurted a little and Collette's smile faded a little. But she replied all the same…

"Well I don't usually go on dates with cars I have just met, but you seem like the nice kind of gentleman who would treat a lady with respect. So the answer is yes. Meet me on that bridge we met on earlier at 7 o'clock and then we can go out for dinner!" Collette then winked at Finn who nodded and got over the fact she said yes.

"Hey Collette get back over here!" one of the reporters called out and Collette turned back to Finn and smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry Finn, I've got to go and do my job. See you later!" and with that, Collette Moteur was back with the press awaiting that convict car to come back out of the building.

Finn McMissile didn't know what to think… throughout his life he had managed to stay away from girls and focus on his career, but now on his first day as a proper secret agent he had found a person who was willing to go out on a date with him! Of course he had no idea what impact this would have on his life and how it would change his view on relationships forever. But this was the young Finn McMissile, and he was less experienced than he would be 20 years later.

Finn grinned like he had won a massive prize in some random draw as he stood parked in the middle of the street. He had no idea his friend was even next to him at this point and he muttered to himself "I have a date tonight…" while he still grinned like a maniac. It was Leland's voice that brought him back to reality.

"Oh really? And since when does Finn McMissile go all broody over some tart car eh?" Leland spat in disgust "Certainly not the car I grew up with that's for certain!"

"Oh come on Leland, she's not a tart car! She is smart and nice and dare I say very attractive, and she agreed that she would go out with me. Never before have I felt like this Leland, perhaps its time I paid more attention to my feelings!" Finn said still grinning like a maniac as he continued to stare at Collette from a distance. Leland couldn't believe what Finn was doing. This was so unlike him!

"Hello? Earth to McMissile? Aren't we meant to be focusing on the case? Not chasing after females? You have got your engine in the clouds mate and you're too nice around females. Since when have you cared more about your feelings than you did your career?"

"Well we don't have to spend all day on the case Leland! We have our own lives you know. And besides, why are you so uptight all of a sudden? You're not jealous of one little date are you?" Finn asked turning his gaze back onto his friend.

"Finn, you should know by now. Relationships and even friendships are dangerous in our line of work! Now let's go book into the hotel and start this investigation. I'm not losing my job to your petty love life!" and with that Leland drove off in a mood. Finn sighed and followed. It was only one date! What harm could that do?

…

Well the answer to that previous question in Leland's mind was a lot of harm! After several months Finn and Collette were still together and much to Leland's displeasure he was making more and more frequent visits to Paris to see her. But after the success of their first mission, the chief had told Finn and Leland that they were going places, and he was correct! Soon Finn, Leland and their new private agent jet Siddeley were flying all around the world from America to Japan to even Russia!

And on one certain mission in Morocco Finn had helped a three wheeled blue French car called Tomber out of a very long 20 year sentence in an impound. And Finn and Leland decided to give him the job of being their informant for some of their missions. Tomber had accepted this offer almost instantly as it was a way to escape prison and he could set up a stall in the market. He was also aware of Finn's relationship with Collette and didn't exactly trust or like her just like Leland didn't. But neither of them chose to get involved as they both knew their relationship wouldn't last long! And Finn would have to learn a very important lesson along with that! Something that would affect his future for good and bad.

But recently Finn and Leland had been filled with so many missions that he wasn't able to spend as much time with Collette as he would have liked. But he was on lucky when the latest case was based in Paris! But unfortunately it involved a very serious matter. Someone had stolen the Cara Mona Lisa painting from its display in the museum and whoever they were they were a master at breaking and entering. But C.H.R.O.M.E had faith in their two new agents as both Leland Turbo and Finn McMissile had good records and reputations for every single mission they had done so far. So it was up to them two to track these criminals down and bring them to justice!

"So any ideas who the main suspect is?" Leland Turbo asked his colleague as they both inspected the crime scene of where the Cara Mona Lisa had been kept. Finn went through the documents and searched throughout the crime scene as many police officer cars around them did the same thing.

"I'm not sure, but these tyre marks could prove useful!" Finn pointed out to some tyre marks on the floor.

"But anyone could have made them! It's a dead end Finn, even the F.B.I in America are stumped on this one! Whoever did this knew exactly what they were looking for and how to get it," Leland replied.

"But, they left a vital clue behind…" Finn stopped looking as his gaze fell on some round object in the middle of the floor. No one had gathered it up as evidence and as Finn got out one of his grippers and inspected the object closely, his eyes began to widen in horror.

"What is it Finn?" Leland asked driving closer to his colleague to inspect the object. Finn muttered aloud to himself in disbelief.

"It can't be! This can't belong to him!" Finn muttered loudly and Leland decided to ask again.

"Who does it belong to Finn? The master thief?" Leland asked receiving a small nod from Finn.

"And I think I know who it is…" Finn said slowly "I hope I am wrong too!"

"Who is it Finn?" Leland pressed on feeling his engine rate go up slightly. Finn slowly turned to his partner and replied finally.

"This belongs to Collette's father; he always had it attached to his wheel, said it was some passed down artefact from his ancestors. He is the only car I know who could have an object like this! I hope I am wrong when I say this, but I think Collette's father is the master thief!" Finn explained seriously hoping he was wrong. For Collette's sake if not her fathers or his own for that matter!

"Well we shall track him down and see if he is the master criminal behind all of this. Just to make sure," Leland explained before turning to the main inspector of the investigation and saying "We think we know who did this and we need your help to track him down." By heck Finn wanted this to be wrong, but he knew that Collette's father's mind worked like this. He had been fined for several crimes before but never imprisoned. But if Finn was proven to be right and Collette's father was guilty, he would be spending more than just a few years in prison!

…

Finn hated all of this, and it was about to get worse for him. The police had finally been able to track down Collette's father down and it was just as Finn predicted. He was in position of the painting! Collette's father had been arrested and held in court awaiting trial. How was Finn going to confront Collette now? He was the one responsible for her father's arrest! But Finn was now learning that very important lesson Leland wanted him to learn, and he had to face it alone.

"Alright get him out of here!" the chief called out as many police vehicles made their way from the premises where Collette's father had been hiding out. It was on old shabby warehouse that hadn't been used in years. The perfect place for a master thief to hide out!

"I'm sorry Finn…" Leland turned to his colleague and apologised, but Finn didn't reply. He was too guilty to do anything right now.

"You boys did a bang up job with this one! I will be sure to report this to your firm. They will be thrilled to know you two are the best agents they have!" the chief exclaimed congratulating the pair on their case. But Finn didn't feel like celebrating, he really didn't want Collette's father to be behind all of this!

"Thank you sir, but it wasn't me who caught him. Finn found and recognised that weird object that pointed to the criminal!" Leland explained and the chief smiled at Finn and nudged him on his wheel.

"Well what ever you did, we have him now and the Cara Mona Lisa wasn't too damaged! You shall be known as the greatest agents in C.H.R.O.M.E from now onwards! Now if you'll excuse me I have an interview to do," and with that the chief drove off leaving Finn and Leland alone.

"Listen Finn, are you upset about what Collette will say?" Leland asked facing him with a soft glance.

"It's not just that Leland. It's about what you said before… you were right! If you have a relationship in this job, someone is likely to get deeply hurt. And Collette is the one I am hurting." Finn turned away and Leland knew he was now facing the truth at last. But he never thought Finn would take it this hard.

"I know you're upset Finn and you have a right to be. But the reason I said having a relationship is dangerous in our line of work is because it is! Someone is likely to get hurt and you cannot grow attached to someone with our dedication to the job! You have learned the hard way Finn… so what are you going to do now?" Leland finally asked him after a small pause and Finn took a few minutes to reply. He turned back to his partner and took a deep breath.

"I guess I shall have to end our relationship. She probably hates me already for what I did to her own father!" Finn then looked away again. He looked as if he were about to cry, but it wasn't just guilt he was sad about, it was the thought of ending something with the only person he really cared for.

"You're doing the right thing Finn. It's better for us all if you end things now before things get any worse," Leland explained "and besides you have my support 100% of the way!" Finn smiled and received a small nudge on his tyre. It was the first time he had actually smiled today!

"Thank you Leland, I shall get it over with tonight… although it won't be easy!" Finn sighed.

"I know it won't my friend, but after you get it out of the way… we can go back to normal!" Leland encouraged "now come on, we'd better get out of here before the reporters get to us!" and with that Finn McMissile and Leland Turbo were on their way back to the hotel. Finn was preparing for tonight. He would meet Collette on the bridge where they had first met, and that would be the place where they would split up!

Finn was right; this wasn't going to be easy! But he had no choice but to do this now! And if he didn't Collette would still hate him anyways.

…

Later that evening when it was growing less crowded and darker, Finn had exited the hotel and made his way to where he had agreed to meet Collette. He was more nervous than he had ever been before in his life and as he got closer and closer to the bridge he felt his engine level begin to increase dramatically. He made his way down the street that led to the bridge and as the bridge came into view he saw a red haze on the bridge. Finn knew that was Collette and as he drove closer he noticed she was crying. It saddened his heart even further and he knew this couldn't go down well. He saw Collette notice him and give him a normal yet stubborn glance and her tears began to die down. And then she finally spoke.

"Hello Finn," Collette said stubbornly as Finn approached her.

"Oh Collette I am so sorry!" Finn broke out softly and Collette glared at him.

"For what? My fathers arrest? Or me losing my job? Or what about my public humiliation?" Collette asked nastily and Finn gasped.

"What?" Finn muttered in disbelief.

"You heard me Finn McMissile! I lost my job, my father, even my sanity thanks to you! And what do you have to say for yourself?" Collette asked to a wordless Finn. He was speechless, he didn't realize he had caused her this much pain and anguish!

"Collette, I didn't mean to hurt you. I hated the very idea of your father being the real criminal! But it isn't me who is to blame, it is your father!" Finn replied much to Collette's anger.

"And you didn't think of the effect it would have on me did you? I got fired from my job this afternoon after my father's arrest! They didn't want a criminal's daughter involved with them! And I got pestered by reporters and camera crews just to be all over the news! My life is ruined thanks to you! I hope you're happy!" Collette yelled out in anger and sadness. Finn didn't know what to say, but he knew he would have to get it out sooner than later.

"Collette, I never wanted to hurt you. I love you no matter what has happened, but I realize now that when you're a secret agent you cannot get into a relationship because the other person gets seriously hurt. I am sorry I have to say this Collette… but I'm breaking up with you," Finn looked down at the floor not even noticing Collette's reaction.

"Good! It's about time too! I don't know what I ever saw in you anyway! You can keep your stupid job and your stupid little petty friends!" Collette shouted and took a deep breath before glaring and speaking menacingly. "But no matter what happens, I will never forgive and forget this Finn McMissile. And one day, I shall get my revenge on you for what hurt and pain you have caused me! May you never find love again!" and with that Collette drove away still sobbing as she went. Finn didn't think she was serious at this point, he thought she was angry and upset and she would soon forget about it. But if Finn looked into the future something bad would happen and this moment would come back to haunt him and another female whom he would care for a great deal more than he ever did for Collette.

Finn McMissile had a lot to think about. He was going to have to forget about Collette and move on with his life. And although he didn't want to do some of this he knew he couldn't trust his emotions again. Oh he had learned a very important lesson today! Never again was he going to let his feelings cloud his judgement. He was never going to let a woman get close to him again! But perhaps that would backfire on him one day. But right now Finn McMissile was determined never to fall in love again!

And since that painful day, Finn McMissile was able to forget about Collette and move on in his life! He would soon be known as the greatest C.H.R.O.M.E agent around, and nothing got in the way of his judgement again! Well not until 20 years later anyway…

Authors note: Yes I know Finn was WAY out of character in this chapter, but it was set 20 years before the current events so he could have acted differently! And in the next chapter we will go back to present day and Tomber will be in for a big surprise! And Holley and Finn will have a hard time tracking down Hailey as well! Oh and in the meantime, please review! I need more reviews! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7: A different form of torture

Chapter 7: A different form of torture

Authors note: Ok guys sorry for the late update but I have been busy with school work and all that. I really do need some more reviews guys! Please review this story! Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter. Holley and Finn won't be in it much, but they will be in the next chapter! I promise! Anyway enjoy!

Located on the outskirts of Paris there was a very old abandoned factory which was once a place that designed weapons. Now it was the secret hideout to a gang of thug cars holding a British Jaguar against her will as prey. Now another car was added to the list of car-napping. Tomber… the poor three wheeled car had no warning and now he was about to have the shock of his life! Literally!

"We've got him Larry!" Rémi and Gustave called out as they entered the main part of the factory where they were keeping Hailey. Tomber was tied up and he was dragged along behind the two old Renault's attached to a rusty hook. The yellow Lemon car turned away from Hailey and grinned victoriously. Tomber was conscious, but he was weak. He wouldn't be able to do any tricky stunts to escape or anything attached to this contraption. He was trapped, but he wasn't the only one.

"Excellent!" Larry limped over towards the two cars and after the other gang members moved out of the way Tomber could see a sight which made him gasp. A dark purple young jaguar was attached to some ghastly looking device, dented and hammered beyond car endurance. Yet she was still conscious let alone alive. Tomber thought for a moment. Now who did this car look similar to? Wait a second… wasn't this the car Holley and Finn showed him on that video? This couldn't be Holley's sister… could it?

"I will tell you something Larry, he wasn't easy to catch," Gustave muttered "I mean he tried to out drive and out wit us." Gustave then turned to Tomber and smirked "But I guess them three wheels only have their down sides."

Tomber glared. He was about to reply to that insult but someone else's voice cut him off.

"Listen gents, do you take some sort of pleasure in car-napping random cars in your spare time or something? What could you possibly want with this bozo?" Hailey asked and then muttered to Tomber "No offence…"

"None taken. You sure take after your sister alright!" Tomber spoke amusingly and Hailey gasped a little.

"You know my sister?" Hailey asked; her tone more serious than before. Tomber would have replied but yet again, he was cut off, this time by Larry.

"That's right you little dented car," Larry said limping over to Tomber and looking him dead in the eyes. "And he shall tell us where her current location is."

"HA!" Tomber spat "And what makes you think I would tell you that?"

Larry chuckled and glanced at Hailey in amusement. Tomber followed his gaze and noticed she was more aware of the situation again. She was expecting another dent again, but she had plenty enough to be made into a waste cube! But this wouldn't stop Larry or any of the others from damaging her in any way, shape or form.

"Because I think you'll find it hard to resist!" and with that the metal machine let down that heavy weight on Hailey again. She cried out in pain once again and Tomber watched in horror as the metal weight arose to reveal another dent on Hailey's body. Tomber didn't know what to do; while he wanted Hailey's suffering to end she just shook her hood and laughed sarcastically.

"Is that what you've got? Don't tell them anything three wheeled car!" Hailey said rather bravely. Larry exploded in rage and hit the switch again causing Hailey another dent.

"Quiet you!" Larry then turned to Tomber and spoke menacingly "Now, either you tell us where we can find agents Holley Shiftwell and Finn McMissile, or we do this to you," and as Larry finished his sentence the sound of the doors opening above them. Everyone looked up to hear a mysterious yet familiar voice fill the room.

"That won't be necessary Monsieur Larry," a female voice broke out. Larry edged away from Tomber and called above him to the voice.

"Boss, what brings you here so soon?"

"Well I wanted to pay my regards to an old friend," the voice replied. Tomber glanced above him to see a glimpse of red. Then it dawned on him, that voice!

"That voice! I would recognise that from any car…" Tomber exclaimed and the owner of the mysterious voice appeared above all of the gang members, Hailey and of course Tomber. She was a red car, the same car from that video they had seen not a day before. And she grinned at Tomber wickedly before speaking in that seductive French accent of hers.

"Hello Tomber…"

"You!" Tomber growled as his eyes narrowed.

"Oh come now, is that any way to treat an old friend? After all it has been over 15 years since our last encounter has it not?"

"Yes, and you haven't changed a bit!" Tomber shouted as the female car chuckled humorously as she made her way down the ramp to the bottom floor where Larry and the others were located. Once she reached the bottom she drove over to Gustave and Rémi and grinned cheekily.

"And how have my two favourite co-workers been?" the Boss smiled at them as Larry began to frown at his employer annoyingly.

"We have been chasing after these two Madame. It wasn't easy, but we do not wish to disappoint our Boss!" Gustave said a little too dramatically. But the Boss' smile faded slightly as she pulled away from the two Renault's and made her way to the old yellow Lemon car they called Larry.

"So you did as I asked and that is good. But do you know the location of McMissile and Shiftwell yet?"

"Not exactly… but we intend to get information out of Tomber right this second madam," Larry replied as he and the Boss turned back to Tomber.

"And your forms of getting information are not at their best Larry. I suggest you go back to what you were best at… being a Lemon car," Larry snarled as the French cars began to chuckle at the old Lemon car. It was obvious to Hailey and Tomber that this Boss and Larry did** not** exactly get on well.

"Now listen lady…!" Larry began glairing daggers at his employer she simply cut him off and replied.

"Shush Larry," the Boss demanded before turning back to Tomber and Hailey who were now put next to each other both tied up. The Boss gazed at Tomber and smiled softly as she spoke. "You know Tomber, you have aged. How does it feel to be McMissile's little informant now?"

Tomber struggled a little as he continued to snarl at the gang who surrounded him. He knew who this car was and what she was capable of. He would probably not see the light of day again. "Why should you care? I mean after all, look what you did to him!"

The Boss simply rolled her eyes at his comment. "Why does everyone think he was the victim? Well he soon shall be." And the Boss then turned to Hailey and smirked "and so will your sister."

"You leave my sister alone you cad!" Hailey shouted receiving a look of sympathy from Tomber. He admired her courage, but he knew what this gang would do if they got their grubby tyres on Finn and Holley or any spy for that matter.

"I admire your courage little one. But I suggest you keep your mouth firmly shut if you want to live." She then nodded to Rémi and Larry behind her and they laughed as they pushed a strange device forward. As they reached the front the Boss pulled up along side the strange device and turned to glance at Tomber. "Tell me Tomber… do you know what this device is?"

"How should I know? I am a car parts dealer, not some weapons expert!" Tomber exclaimed receiving smirks from the crowd as several cars attached the wires linked to the device onto Hailey. She tried to resist them but found it difficult.

"Get you're grubby wheels off of me!" Hailey squirmed still feeling pain from all her dents once again. Tomber glanced away from the young jaguar back to the Boss.

"What are you doing to her?" Tomber demanded receiving a strange look from the Boss.

"This here is an electrical device that lets out 100s of volts of electricity per second, depending on which setting you put it on. If you won't tell us where Finn and Holley are located… well… we'll just have to persuade you otherwise!"

"No don't!" Tomber shouted "You'll kill her!"

"Isn't that the idea?" Rémi laughed along with the other members of the gang.

"Start it up Larry! And don't fail me this time," the Boss explained to Larry who growled before he replied.

"Yes Boss," Larry flicked the switch and before volts of electricity reached her, Hailey managed to say something to Tomber. Something that would prolong his agony as well as hers.

"Don't tell them anything Tomber! Don't let my sister down!" and with that Hailey screamed in sheer agony with the force of bolts surging throughout her dented broken down body. But she fought it! Like her sister, she was a fighter! Tomber glanced at the cars in front of him who all roared in evil cackles or just simply smirked at him like the Boss as an example. They expected him to crack soon and as for poor Tomber… he didn't know how much he could endure of this before he would finally crack.

…

"So anything new?" Finn McMissile asked his colleague as they searched through different files on Holley's computer screen. Holley shook her head dully.

"Nothing…" Holley sighed and then put her computer screen down and turned away. Finn noticed her sigh deeply and glance away outside their hotel room to see the busy life of the cars in Paris. He shared her pain. They had been searching through different files for some clue on Hailey's location and all of them gave no answers. It seemed like a dead end. "Let's face it Finn, We aren't going to find her!"

"Now Holley, you of all cars shouldn't give up hope! She is your sister after all!" Finn replied determinedly, too bad Holley wasn't so determined.

"I know that Finn. And I would give my own life to save her if I had to! But these cars who captured her are smart and have covered their tracks well." Holley explained still turned away from Finn. He pulled up along side her and nudged her slightly as they both stared out into the distance.

"Listen Holley, I feel for you. I really do! Here was you getting on with your life and suddenly your world has been turned upside down when your sister has been car-napped. You haven't even spoken to her in 2 years and you feel like you're letting her down. I should know, I have lived my life letting people down," Finn looked down and Holley glanced at him sympathetically.

"And how have you let anyone down Finn?" Holley chuckled slightly causing Finn to frown a little.

"In many ways Miss Shiftwell…" Finn said distantly. Holley turned to her colleague and gave him a look of sympathy before he continued. "I have let many I love down in my life. And I have made enemies easily. You see Holley, being a spy is dangerous work, and you have to give up those whom you care about to be in the job. Or else you find yourself getting either killed or injured by your enemies."

"You're wrong there Finn," Holley began catching Finn's immediate attention; it wasn't often when his partner said he was wring about something. "You see, my father was just like you. He was a very experienced spy and the best in his field. And I know that being a spy means no close relationships, but my father proved that you can still have loved ones in this type of career. He was out often on assignments but he always came back and spent time with the family. He even took videos of his training to show me and Hailey what he was up to. This thrilled us even more to see what he was doing while he was away from home! But he always came back and spent time with me, mother and Hailey. So you see Finn, you can still care for someone even with a career as dangerous as ours."

Finn smiled and nudged his partner "You tend to like proving me wrong about relationships and all that recently don't you Miss Shiftwell." Holley grinned and nodded as she replied.

"Just think of it as a matter I take a strong opinion to," Holley and Finn smiled softly at each other for several moments until something interrupted them. Holley then turned back to her computer screen as it flashed up with an error. "Wait I think I've got something."

"What is it?" Finn asked fully alert. Holley browsed through her files for several moments before replying.

"It's some sort of message. I'm tracking it down now. Wait a moment…" Finn awaited Holley's answer as she then gasped "Finn you may want to check this out."

"What is it Holley?" Finn pulled up along side his partner and stared at the screen with a message on it.

"It's from my mother," Holley explained "the blasted criminals sent her something."

"What have they sent her?" Finn asked receiving a small shake from Holley.

"I don't know, she's sending me the image now." And for several moments Holley and Finn waited in silence as tension was arising in the room. Finally a file came up on Holley's screen and she clicked on it. It was an image, and it made both Holley and Finn gasp in horror.

"Oh no!" Finn said breathlessly as he turned to glance at Holley. She was a mix of emotions. She looked as if she were either about to cry, have an anger fit or hyperventilate. But Finn didn't know which one Holley would go for. But he had no time to think when suddenly Holley came out with some short but painful cries.

"H-h-how could they do this to her?" Holley muffled through tears. She continued to stare at the picture on her screen. It was a picture of her sister hooked up to some horrifying device dented and hammered and semi-conscious. She tried to control her emotions in front of Finn but she couldn't help herself. This was too much to take in!

"These cretins have taken this too far!" Finn spat nastily before making his voice softer as he spoke to Holley. "Oh Holley I am so sorry!"

"It's not your fault Finn… It's theirs!" Holley said now having tears of rage. "And when I find her, I will kill the morons who did this to her!"

"Well we will have to find this so called hideout of theirs first before we can make our move," Finn began before glancing at the photo again with a curious eye "wait a moment… Holley zoom in on the left hand side of the photo."

"Ok," Holley did as her partner asked and some small French writing came up. Finn examined the text thoroughly; he could have sworn he saw this text before. But he didn't know where.

"Damn I cannot recognise this text at all. It is definitely not normal French grammar." Finn muttered. Holley's hopes fell until she had an idea.

"Perhaps Tomber would know!" Holley suggested and Finn nodded.

"Yes, he is French of course. Holley get in contact with Tomber's shop, perhaps he could hold the clue to our next piece of the puzzle." Holley did as she was told and the phone on the other end of the line rang until someone picked up. But it wasn't Tomber's voice.

"Salut?" a French accent answered and Finn decided to jump in before Holley could reply.

"Hello there we wish to speak to Tomber please," Finn explained not even expecting what the French car was about to reply.

"I'm sorry Monsieur, but Tomber hasn't been here all day. He's somehow disappeared!" the voice replied.

"Nonsense! Tomber never misses a day at his stall." Finn replied sounding as if he didn't believe the car on the other line.

"I'm sorry Monsieur but it is true. He is missing!" and with this Finn's expression changed. He thought for a moment before replying.

"Ok then, Merci," and with that Finn signalled to Holley to end the call. He turned away from Holley while she gave him a look of confusion.

"Finn, where do you think Tomber is?"

Finn turned around slowly and gave Holley a dreading look "I don't know Holley. But I think there is more to the plan here than we originally thought. And perhaps Tomber has been car-napped too for something worth more than money."

"And what's that Finn?" Holley asked.

"Information."

…

"AGH!" Hailey screamed in sheer agony as yet another couple of vaults of electricity zapped through her body at an alarming rate. Tomber was surrounded by several gang members including Larry, Gustave, Rémi and the Boss of course. He was grimacing in shame as the cars expected him to crack at any second, but he remained stubborn despite the situation and the sheer pain the poor girl was going through.

"Alright Tomber, ready to crack yet?" Larry asked impatiently once again as he pressed the stop button with his left tyre. Hailey was still conscious and was breathing heavily getting over the amount of volts that shattered her insides.

"Don't…" Hailey muttered feeling unconsciousness slipping over her once again. It was becoming a regular thing for her, and with every electric shock she was becoming more and more weak.

"Oh come now Tomber… can't you see this girl is suffering? She may act all tough but she is becoming weaker by the second. We can put her suffering to an end, only if you tell us what we need to know," the Boss explained as she drove slow circles around Tomber. He kept his gaze guiltily at the floor. He was so tempted to end Hailey's suffering! But he wasn't willing to give information that easily. Not when it endangered the lives of two of his associates!

"I can't…" Tomber whispered shamefully. The Boss signified to Larry again and he fired up the machine once again. Hailey, who was barely conscious, was awoken yet again to the feel of sparks go throughout her body. She began screaming again and the Boss sighed and spoke again to Tomber who still refused to look in her eyes.

"Can't you hear that Tomber? The girl will die if you don't tell us where Finn is located. Are you willing to let an innocent girl die for some silly informant title?" Tomber then slowly raised his brown eyes at her and glared.

"It's not being his informant that I care about. It's what you're capable of! And Finn has been more loyal to me over the years than you could ever be to anyone in a life time!" Tomber growled and the red car shook her hood.

"Oh Tomber, you still haven't realized have you? Finn McMissile cares for no one! Don't you see? He made his decision not to care for anyone. Do you really think he'll come to your rescue again? No Tomber, you're all alone. And little Hailey here will meet her doom if you don't tell me his location right now!" the Boss turned back to Hailey who shouted out once again.

"NO!" Hailey fought back the electricity shooting through her body and glared down at the Boss.

"Larry, set up the setting to maximum. I want to hear her scream even louder!" the Boss demanded smirking up at Hailey wickedly. She always won!

"Right Boss!" Larry replied turning up the setting causing more sparks to fly out of Hailey. She did indeed begin screaming even louder and it was just a matter of time before all this electricity caused her engine and oil chambers to break. Tomber watched in horror as he noticed Hailey go into so much shock it was unbearable for her. He then decided to do the biggest mistake ever.

"Wait! Stop that machine!" Tomber yelled and the Boss signalled to Larry to stop the electricity. Once it had stopped Tomber said in short gasps only what Hailey dreaded. "I know where Finn and Holley are!"

"Tell me!" the Boss demanded.

"The Eiffel tower hotel… that's their location! The Eiffel tower hotel…" and with this Tomber looked down in shame not even glancing at Hailey.

Hailey was slipping into unconsciousness again but she managed to mutter something "No…" an with that Hailey slowly went into a deep sleep. But before she was completely out she heard the Boss give her orders to the other cars.

"Get ready to track McMissile and Shiftwell at the Eiffel tower hotel! I want them to find their own way here by tomorrow evening!" the Boss then signified to Tomber "and smarten this contraption up! He shall be delivering our message to them personally!"

Tomber felt ashamed of himself. He was responsible for Finn and Holley's capture! They were leading them to a trap! And while Hailey was the bait, Tomber was the guide. Oh Finn and Holley would have to work together to get through this! But more was about to happen to them both in a short space of time…

Authors note: Well this is the chapter! In the next one Tomber will be delivering a video to Finn and Holley against his will. And Finn and Holley will be going on a date! Or as Finn would call it, 'a dinner outing' as he still refuses to admit his feelings for Holley. And please review people! I really do appreciate them! Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8: Something is just not right

Chapter 8: Something is just not right…

Authors note: Ok sorry for not updating in a while guys but I have been working on my other stories and all that. But here is the next chapter! And you may hate or pity Tomber in this chapter… but please don't blame him too much! Anyway enjoy!

Hailey gained consciousness to total darkness. It was completely silent which added to the tension of it all. Hailey could see a dim light as she glanced around the room and when she felt glanced down she saw a small car parked in a spot in front of her. It was a small blue three wheeled car that was tied up like Hailey was, and judging by the light he was awake. Hailey wanted to drive up to the car and help him, but she couldn't. Hailey then remembered what had happened before she was knocked out. It wasn't a pleasant experience. Hailey let out a small groan of pain as she moved her tyre forward. The sharp pain went throughout her entire body and her groan was low yet loud enough for the other car to hear.

"Are you awake kid?" the car called out in a French accent. Hailey turned her gaze towards him as he managed to turn himself around to face her. His brown eyes were heavy and drawn; he gazed at her and frowned sadly.

"Yes, unfortunately," Hailey replied then noticing there was no one in the room but them. Where were those pesky villains? "Where have those cowards gone off to?"

"They've gone to do something that will concern me. They'll be back soon," the car replied sounding very depressed.

"You told them about my sister's location didn't you?" Hailey asked receiving a very guilty look from the car the villains called Tomber. He nodded softly glancing at the floor in shame. Hailey then continued "It's not your fault you know. It's theirs! They have tortured me, you and they are about to do the same to my sister and her friend. I just want this all to go away."

"You know, I was right about you. You are very much like your sister! You have taken all of this torture to protect your sister, and then I blow it all for you and now hers and Finn's lives are in jeopardy thanks to me!" Tomber cursed himself as he said this.

"There was nothing you could have done. I would have cracked eventually," Hailey replied before asking curiously "And who is this Finn McMissile chap I keep hearing about anyways?"

Tomber gave her a look of shock "You haven't heard of him? He is like THE greatest agent of his time! He's your sister's partner. He's the one who gave her that big break!"

"Yeah, but what does a car like you have to do with secret agents anyway?" Hailey asked changing the subject yet again. Tomber chuckled despite finding himself in pain.

"Well now that you've asked I'll tell you. It all started about twenty years ago when I was arrested for selling illegal goods to the wrong cars who reported me and turned me in. This was in Morocco by the way. Anyway I was sentenced to a 20 to life sentence in an impound, but then out of the blue Finn McMissile comes and saves the day and frees me in exchange for one favour. I am his informant. And I got to know your sister on the Allinol case when she and some random old rusty tow truck turned up with him. I wouldn't have minded but your sister stunned me with an electric shock and then had me towed by that tow truck!" Tomber explained.

"Hmm that's Holley alright!" Hailey chuckled humorously before glancing away distantly. "It's a shame really; I haven't spoken to my sister for over two years. I have missed all the fun."

"And why's that? Lost contact with her or something?" Tomber asked raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Yeah," Hailey began "I guess being a desk agent made her grow too attached to her job or something. While she was in Japan helping spies I was stuck in stupid London trying to be just like her."

"Hmm," Tomber said with a hint of distaste in his voice "listen kid, whatever these imbeciles have in store for me… I'm sorry."

"Don't mention it; it's my sister who's meant to have the grudge against you remember?" Hailey replied coolly causing both herself and Tomber to chuckle quietly. "By the way you never introduced yourself."

"Tomber," the French reliant said calmly "and you?"

"Hailey Shiftwell," Hailey smiled but that soon faded when she spoke again. "Listen Tomber, if we ever get through this alive; I just want you to know I never blamed you."

"Thank you Hailey… let's just hope we make it through this in one piece..." Tomber said. Then suddenly the doors swung open and two nasty black cars drove into the room with smug grins on their faces.

"How about pieces?" one of the cars smirked as they made their way over to Tomber to put their plan into action. And poor Tomber would have no choice but to cooperate, or else his life could be on the line.

…

"So what do you suppose we do now?" Finn asked as he and Holley drove back to their hotel disappointment and sadness evident on their faces.

"Well I suppose we turn in for the night and continue tomorrow," Holley said with a hint of determination clear in her voice "and I'll be damned if we give up on her Finn! She is my dear sister and I won't give her up without a fight."

"Well said Holley Shiftwell, even you won't give up for the ones you love that easily," Finn smiled and nudged her slightly on her tyre.

"I would never abandon or give up on anyone I cared about deeply. I never gave up on you when the lemons kidnapped you did I?" Holley asked as they turned the next corner. They were now on the street where their hotel was located and the afternoon was slowly turning into evening as the sky was going less bright. Finn McMissile took her words into consideration 'I would never give up on anyone I cared about deeply'. Those words plagued his mind as he had an urging question he wanted to ask her since they arrived in Pairs. Finn now chose his moment and stopped in his tracks much to the general public's annoyance. Holley stopped almost instantly when she noticed her companion wasn't following her, she turned and noticed him smiling by what she would say shyly. The Finn McMissile being shy? Get real!

"Everything alright Finn?" Holley said with a hint of concern evident in her features. Finn nodded and turned away glancing over the railings and fixing his eyes on a small park nearby where children were playing and young car couples were spending time together. It reminded him with his days with Collette, which made his even more hurt by remembering what had happened all that time ago. When Finn finally got back to reality he turned to Holley and gave her a small smile.

"Yes I am fine. I just have a growing question on my mind as all. One I would like to ask you."

Holley felt her engine get warmer by the second; she could feel the oil bubbling inside her tank. She noticed he was smiling at her like he had never done before. But Holley refused to believe he could be interested in her. Well, if it were true she wouldn't know what to say or do anyway. It was just a dream really, or was it? "Uh, yes Finn?" Holley replied weakly and Finn took in a deep breath of air before getting enough courage to ask her his question.

"Well I know you have been put under a lot of pressure lately, and believe me I could never fully understand what it is like to loose a close family member like that. But you have been working too hard and your mind has been fixed on finding Hailey so much that you have lost all interest in life. And I hardly blame you as all… but what I am trying to say is, why not take your mind off of that for one night and come out with me for dinner?"

Holley was speechless; she had a dream like this once. But in that dream they were in a completely different place and it immediately ended when she said yes. But this was no dream. Here they were parked on a street in Pairs while random citizen cars drove along on their normal business and Holley had just been asked out by her partner and crush. Sure he was older than her, but so was Mater and she never refused to go out with him despite the briefness of it all. She was under the impression it was a date, but knowing Finn McMissile, it was probably just a place to eat and discuss business. But Holley couldn't refuse all the same, and it would help for her mind to be taken off of her sister for a short while!

"Of course I will Finn!" Holley shouted and grinned despite the odd looks passing cars were giving her for her sudden outburst. Finn also grinned and both cars started to laugh.

"Great! Well I guess we had both better get back to the hotel to get ready before we go for dinner then," Finn explained beginning to drive away but Holley remained where she was. She couldn't get over the fact she was about to go out with Finn McMissile! All those bad thoughts of her sister had suddenly disappeared and for the first time in weeks she felt a sense of joy inside her. "Are you coming Shiftwell?" Finn asked and Holley nodded and smiled.

"I'm coming right now!" Holley shouted back. And with that both cars entered the hotel to prepare for the night ahead. But both were unaware about what was about to happen, and of course their unexpected visitor.

…

Back at the abandoned warehouse on the other side of Paris, Rémi and Gustave were both preparing Tomber for his little mission under the supervision of Larry of course. Both black cars battled with the reliant to get their device onto him but Tomber fought them. In the end both cars had to stun him briefly to complete the task and when he came around again Tomber noticed Larry, Gustave and Rémi surrounding him with evil smirks plastered on their rusty faces.

"What is this?" Tomber squirmed glancing at his side door with a strange looking device now attached to it.

"Just think of it as a little gift from us to McMissile," Larry laughed much to Tomber's annoyance.

"That is no appropriate answer to my question," Tomber snarled. Suddenly the doors opened automatically and the Boss came driving in, she made her way through the room and parked right next to her 3 workers and glanced at Tomber with no particular expression.

"This so called device is a little video we made up. It will give McMissile and Shiftwell a clue to our location and what we exactly do here to particular prisoners," the Boss' eyes glanced to her side as she noticed a semi conscious Hailey watching the scene without making a sound. Tomber smirked and decided to reply.

"And why give away your location? That's pretty dumb for a villainous scheme if you ask me."

"Well we didn't ask you did we Monsieur Tomber?" The Boss asked plainly "No, we don't want them to hunt us for ever as it will take too long and I fear I would kill that stupid kid myself. We want McMissile and Shiftwell to arrive here so we can finish them off and be done with it. This video will give them a nudge in the right direction and we shall be ready for their advances."

"You won't fool them you know! McMissile has fought off worse villains than you lot before now. And besides, what makes you think I won't tell them who is really behind all of this? I could tell them everything, and I could even go tell the police about you and have you arrested!" Tomber boasted much to his mistake. Suddenly the Boss jumped forward and held a tyre to Tomber's mouth and she glared daggers at him while she spoke slow and menacingly.

"Because if you tell anyone anything, we will hunt you down and kill you personally. Understand this Tomber, this device has a built in camera so we can see and hear everything you have been doing. Say one word to them and you can say goodbye to your already useless three wheels!" The Boss then let go of Tomber's mouth and he looked down defeated.

"So if I give this to Finn and don't say a word to anyone about this, you will get off of my hood?" Tomber asked hopefully receiving a nod from the Boss.

"Depending on the way you deliver this message," the Boss explained and then turned to Rémi and Gustave "now you two, make this imbecile look presentable. We've got ourselves a message to deliver!"

…

Back at the Eiffel tower hotel Holley and Finn were both getting ready to go out. The evening had now set in completely and the lights in Paris were begging to turn on giving the air a night feel to it. Finn had managed to get himself ready enough to go out but now he had to wait for Holley who was surprisingly very fussy about the way she looked tonight. He didn't really know that she secretly wanted to impress him but he had a small feeling that was her intention. Finn parked himself on the balcony and breathed in the city air and watched as the Eiffel tower lit up the evening sky. He then turned around when he heard Holley's voice from inside the room.

"Finn could you wait for about ten minuets while I go get a quick shower down in the bathroom? I don't exactly feel clean enough to go out for dinner," Holley asked and Finn nodded before turning back round to admire the scenery before him. It remained that way for several moments before he heard a knock on the door. Finn entered the room and opened the door and his eyes widened when he saw an unexpected guest parked outside his room.

"Tomber, what are you doing here?" Finn asked raising an eyebrow in confusion. Tomber glanced around frantically and the tension began to build inside of him. He didn't know how long it would be until he would crack. And if he did, he'd be in a lot more trouble than it would be worth.

"Can I come in Finn?" Tomber asked rather quickly and Finn nodded and made way for the French reliant to make his way past into the room.

"What ever is the matter Tomber? You're not acting yourself," Finn pointed out and Tomber still searched around frantically.

"Where is Holley?" Tomber pressed on trying to avoid Finn's questions as much as possible.

"She is in the shower. You caught us at a bad time I am afraid, we are going out again any minute now." Finn explained and then he noticed the strange device attached to Tomber's side door. "What is that device Tomber?"

"It's for you and Holley, I have no idea what it is but I was told to bring it to you," Tomber said with worry written all over his features and voice.

"Who sent this Tomber?" Finn asked taking the mysterious device off of his informant and examined it curiously.

"I cannot say!" Tomber blurted much to Finn's surprise.

"There is something wrong isn't there Tomber? Have you found yourself in some sort of trouble? Remember I can help you because I am your friend and-" but Finn was cut off by Tomber's panicky voice yet again.

"No!" Tomber reversed back in a frightened way and gave Finn a fearful look before finishing his errand for the bad guys "you cannot help me Finn! Just give the device to Holley! For my sake as well as yours!" And with that Tomber drove off as fast as he could.

Finn was left to stand there in deep thought. He had never seen Tomber act like this before in his entire life. It was as if… he was trying to protect himself from something and it was as if… he was fending for his life. But Finn didn't know what to think at that moment in time. Perhaps Tomber wasn't feeling very well or something? It couldn't be too dangerous could it? After all Tomber was his informant and he would tell him if he was in some sort of trouble. But Finn didn't know Tomber's life was on the line as well as his and Holley's and of course Hailey's. But he would soon find out.

"Who was that Finn?" Holley called from within the bathroom. Finn put the device on the side for then and decided to tell her about it later on after their meal.

"Oh it was Tomber just delivering some sort of video device," Finn explained "are you almost ready to go Holley?"

"Just wait a second Finn and I'll be out!" Holley replied and within seconds the door opened and a shiny Holley reversed out of the bathroom.

Finn couldn't breathe for several moments as he saw Holley make her way out of the bathroom. He had never seen her so pretty before in his entire life and she dazzled him. Finn tried to snap himself out of it but he couldn't find the will power to do so. He knew it was wrong to be attracted to his younger colleague but it felt so right at the same time! He soon noticed Holley was staring back at him when she turned around and faced him. Both cars couldn't help themselves. Each of them had growing feelings towards the other, but both of them were stubborn and refused to allow their feelings to go anywhere but in their heads. Holley had of course liked Finn longer than he had liked her but ever since her break up with Mater, Finn couldn't help but feel differently towards his partner. And eventually after Finn and Holley had been smiling dreamily at each other for a short while Holley decided to break the sweet tension by chuckling.

"What is so funny Miss Shiftwell?" Finn asked cracking a smile too for no apparent reason.

"Nothing really," Holley smirked still stifling some giggles back much to Finn's curiosity.

"Tell me!"

"No."

"Holley!"

"Oh alright," Holley finally gave in and pointed to his chin with her right tyre."You have some toothpaste stuck to your chin there," Holley smirked and Finn managed to get it off by rubbing his chin with his tyre. He couldn't help but chuckle too as they both found the situation quite amusing.

"Come on then Holley, we should head out for dinner now," Finn said finally changing the subject to reality again.

"Of course," Holley replied smiling as they drove out of the door "besides, you never told me, where we are going?"

Finn smirked and said "You'll see."

And with that both secret agents were about to go out for dinner unaware what the villain cars had in store for them.

Tomber drove outside the hotel and sighed, but his job wasn't over yet. He still had to report back to Rémi and Gustave who both awaited him in a nearby alley. And when Tomber got there, it wasn't a nice warm welcome. Not that he'd expect anything less from these two thug cars.

"Have you done it?" Gustave asked from within the dark shadows of the alley. Tomber could barely see either of the cars but he knew they were present. He could sense it.

"Yes, and I didn't tell them anything," Tomber proclaimed "can I go home now?"

"Oui, but if you spread a word of this to anyone. We may not be able to control our actions, got it?" Rémi threatened and Tomber got the message. He didn't want anymore trouble with this lot anymore. It seemed as if Finn and Holley would have to fend for themselves now.

"Oui," Tomber said quietly "I will not tell a soul."

"Good car! Stay out of our way, and we'll stay out of yours!" Gustave exclaimed. "Now get out of our sight before we recapture you and dent you like the Shiftwell kid."

Tomber didn't have to think twice. He took off as fast as his three wheels could take him and headed home back to his shop in the hopes that those thugs and their leader wouldn't bother him again. But guilt also prevented Tomber from thinking straight; he had just abandoned that poor girl back in the factory. And what's more, he had helped lead Holley and Finn into a trap for the sake of his own life! But desperate times call for desperate measures… and Tomber just hoped that Holley and Finn would make it out alive and find Hailey before it was too late!

Authors note: Well it didn't exactly go according to plan. This dinner will be in the next chapter, sorry about that. But it'll be worth waiting for I promise you that! In the meantime, please review! Thanks!


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